ilitant 
lethodism 


METHODIST  MEN 


v  1Q13  * 


I 


J, 


LIBRARY 

THE  UNIVERSITY 

OF  CALIFORNIA 

SANTA  BARBARA 

Gift  of 

THE  INSTITUTE 

FOR  THE  STUDY  OF 

AMERICAN  RELIGION 

I  ibf.'t  B..r»...  I  -J9701. 


Militant  Methodism 


The  Story  of  the  First  National 
Convention  of  Methodist  Men 

HELD  AT  INDIANAPOLIS,  INDIANA,  OCTOBER  TWENTY-EIGHT 
TO  THIRTY-ONE,  NINETEEN  HUNDRED  AND  THIRTEEN 


METHODIST  MEN 


EDITED  BT 


DAVID  G.  ,JX}]£NEY      E.  W.  HALFORD 
RALPH  WELLES  KEELER 


THE    METHODIST    BOOK    CONCERN 

CINCINNATI    -    NEW  YORK 


To  THE  MEN  OF  METHODISM. 


Withdrawn 

From  B' ham-Sou. 

College  Lib. 


^purpose  of  tfje  Rational 
Contention  of 
bist  jMen 


kO  increase    missionary    intelligence 
and  to  deepen  the  spiritual  life. 

2 

D  present  the  definite  responsibility 
of  Methodism,  both  at  home  and 
abroad,  in  relation  to  other  denominations 
and  Christian  agencies. 


kO  adopt  a  practicable  denominational 
program  and  policy  of  advance. 

4 

D  place  more  definitely  before  the 
Church  the  New  Financial  Plan  as 
adopted  by  the  General  Conference  for  the 
Church  as  a  whole  and  for  the  local 
Church. 

5 

kO  emphasize  the  principles  and  prac- 
tice   of    Christian    Stewardship   as 
adopted  by  the  General  Conference. 

6 

kO  discover  and  enlist  more  men  for 
missionary  and  evangelistic  service. 


Editorial  Foreword. 

THE  story  of  this  first  Convention  of  Methodist  Men  might  be 
told  in  either  one  of  three  different  ways.  The  editors  might 
have  summarized  the  addresses,  gathered  up  the  general  im- 
pression, and  given  the  conclusions  and  results  of  this  unique 
gathering.  That  method,  however,  would  inevitably  make  the 
record  a  transcript,  for  the  most  part,  of  the  editorial  view- 
point and  would  deprive  the  Church  of  the  collective  wisdom 
of  the  many  speakers  who  out  of  their  wide  observation  and 
experience  contributed  to  the  total  result.  It  was  also  open 
to  the  editors  to  tell  the  story  of  the  Convention  in  terms  of 
days.  A  careful  examination  of  the  program,  however,  showed 
that  while  it  was  logically  and  cumulatively  arranged,  certain 
subjects  could  not  be  treated  in  their  entirety  in  any  one  day. 
Any  attempt,  therefore,  to  follow  the  Convention  day  by  day 
would  necessarily  mean  a  breaking  up  of  subjects  or  themes, 
treating  them  in  part  on  one  day  and  returning  to  the  same 
or  similar  topics  on  a  second  day.  Inasmuch  as  the  makers 
of  the  program  planned  for  the  presentation  of  certain  out- 
standing themes,  it  was  seen  that  the  story  could  be  told  in 
terms  of  the  various  subjects  considered.  This  last  method 
is  the  one  adopted.  By  this  method  it  is  believed  that  every 
reader  can  easily  follow  and  find  the  main  deliverances  on  all 
the  subjects  discussed.  This  method  is  further  to  be  com- 
mended because  it  reduces  the  editorial  note  and  comment  to 
a  minimum  and  makes  it  possible  to  give  to  the  Church  a 

5 


EDITORIAL  FOREWORD. 

fairly  complete  report  of  the  paper*  read  and  addresses  de- 
livered. 

Obviously,  some  things  had  to  be  omitted.  To  include 
everything  said  and  done  it  would  be  necessary  to  produce 
a  volume  that  would  be  unwieldy  in  bulk  and  prohibitive  in 
price.  It  would  have  been  an  editorial  pleasure  to  feature 
each  special  session  with  fitting  characterization  of  presiding 
officers  and  full  reports  of  the  always  interesting  and  fre- 
quently inspiring  opening  and  closing  exercises,  but  it  was 
deemed  best,  for  the  most  part,  to  omit  this  feature  of  the 
Convention.  There  is  included,  however,  the  full  Convention 
program,  with  the  names  of  the  presiding  officers  and  those 
who  so  reverently  and  helpfully  conducted  the  several  ses- 
sions of  intercession  and  praise. 

In  this  brief  foreword  the  editors  wish  especially  to  em- 
phasize two  features  of  the  Convention:  First,  its  high 
seriousness,  and  second,  its  intense  religious  spirit.  It  was 
evident  from  the  very  first  moment  of  the  Convention  that 
the  delegates  had  come  together  not  for  pleasure,  but  for 
high  and  serious  business.  There  was  a  quietness,  a  purpose- 
fulness  that  manifested  itself  at  the  start  and  maintained 
itself  to  the  very  end.  To  see  from  two  thousand  to  three 
thousand  men  sitting  together  for  three  sessions  a  day  (each 
session  approximately  three  hours  long)  for  four  days,  con- 
sidering the  things  that  tend  to  hinder  or  to  advance  the 
Kingdom  of  God  in  the  earth,  was  a  sight  to  thrill  the  soul 
and  fill  the  mind  with  radiant  hope  for  the  days  to  come. 
But  the  seriousness  of  the  Convention  was  no  whit  more 
evident  than  its  religiousness.  This  religiousness  did  not 
expend  itself  in  emotion  or  in  shouting  or  in  any  merely  ex- 
ternal manifestation.  There  was  emotion,  deep  and  timely, 

6 


EDITORIAL  FOREWORD. 

and  there  was  the  proper  expression  of  the  deep  inner  feeling. 
But  the  religiousness  of  this  Convention  of  Methodist  Men 
was  something  apart.  It  was  an  inner  fire,  a  quiet  contagion, 
something  that  one  felt  and  experienced  rather  than  talked 
about.  This  deep  religious  purpose  was  evident  in  the  prayers 
and  in  the  addresses  and  in  the  giving  and  in  the  spirit  that 
pervaded  every  gathering — even  the  social  and  business  gath- 
erings— during  the  entire  four  days.  If  the  spirit  of  high 
seriousness  and  of  earnest,  genuine  piety  that  characterized 
the  Convention  can  be  carried  down  to  the  local  Church,  the 
long-waited-for  revival  will  be  well  on  the  way. 

We  send  this  record  forth  with  the  sincere  and  earnest 
prayer  that  God  will  make  it  a  fountain  of  blessing  and  a 
source  of  inspiration  to  all  who  read  it  and  to  the  Church  of 
Jesus  Christ  in  all  the  lands. 

DAVID  G.  DOWNEY, 
E.  W.  HALPORD, 
RALPH  WELLES 


Table  of  Contents. 


i. 

OPPORTUNITY  AND  TASK. 

THE  CENTRAL  TASK  OF  THE  CHURCH  OF  CHRIST. 

ROBERT  E.  SPEER,  New  York,  Secretary  of  the  Board  of  Foreign 

Missions  of  the  Presbyterian  Church 28 

METHODISM'S  MISSION  AND  MESSAGE. 

WILLIAM  ERASER  MCDOWELL,   Chicago,   Bishop  of   the   Methodist 

Episcopal  Church 83 

METHODISM'S  ACHIEVEMENTS  AND  LARGER  OPPORTUNITIES. 

JOHN  L.  NUELSEN,  Zurich,  Bishop  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church.    41 


II. 

THE  FORCES  AND  THE  FIELD— A  SURVEY. 


I.     OUR  DENOMINATIONAL  SITUATION. 

THE  DRIFT  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

W.  B.  HOLLINGSHEAD,  Apportionment  Secretary  Methodist  Episcopal 

Church,  Philadelphia » 64 

THE  SIZE  AND  COMPLEXITY  OF  THE  ORGANIZATION  TO  BE  MOVED. 

S.  EARL  TAYLOR,  Corresponding  Secretary  Board  of  Foreign  Missions, 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church 61 

THE  PROPOSED  REMEDY. 

J.  B.  TRIMBLE,  Assistant  Secretary  Board  of  Foreign  Missions 71 

LEADERSHIP  IN  THE  NEW  FINANCIAL  PLAN. 

JOHN  LOWE  FORT,  Superintendent  Saratoga  District,  Troy  Conference.    77 

9 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS. 

MEETING  THE  NEEDS  OF  THE  Horn. 

U.   G.   LEAZENBT,   Superintendent  of  the  Crawfordsville   District, 
Northwest  Indiana  Conference 81 

DILLON  BROMSON,  Superintendent  of  the  Boston  District,  New  Eng- 
land Conference 88 

FRANK  C.  EVANS,  Crawfordsville,  Ind 86 

ROOT.  E.  JONES,  Editor  Southwestern  Christian  Advocate 87 

S.  R.  SMITH,  Freeport,  N.  Y 88 

O.  F.  HYPES,  Springfield,  Ohio 90 

JOHN  T.  STONE,  Baltimore,  Md 91 

ALEX.  BENNETT,  Pastor  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  Celina,  Kans . .  98 

THOMAS  LIPPY,  Seattle,  Wash 94 

W.  F.  WHELAN,  Buffalo,  N.  Y 96 

D.  D.  FOBSTTH,  Superintendent  Denver  District,  Denver  Conference.  97 

II.  WHAT  OTHER  DENOMINATIONS  HAVE  DONE. 

THE  SOUTHERN  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH. 

C.  A.  ROWLAND,  Secretary  Laymen's  Missionary  Movement,  Southern 

Presbyterian  Church 99 

THE  DISCIPLES  OF  CHRIST. 

A.  E.  CORY,  Secretary  Foreign  Board,  Disciples  of  Christ 104 

THE  UNITED  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH. 

J.  CAMPBELL  WHITE,  Secretary  Interdenominational  Laymen's  Mis- 
sionary Movement Ill 

THE  UNITED  BRETHREN  CHURCH. 

BISHOP  HOWARD 118 

S.  S.  HOUQH 181 

III.  SECTIONAL  AND  EPISCOPAL  AREA  CONFER- 

ENCES. 

EPISCOPAL  AREA  CONFERENCES 125 

SECTIONAL  CONFERENCES..  .  125 


10 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS. 

III. 
FORWARD,  MARCH!  A  CALL  TO  ADVANCE. 


I.    THE  CALL  OF  OUR  LEADERS. 

TO.ADVANCE  IN  BIBLE  CIRCULATION. 

W.  I.  HAVEN,  Secretary  of  the  American  Bible  Society 129 

To  ADVANCE  IN  TEMPERANCE. 

CLARENCE  TRUE  WILSON,  Secretary  Church  Temperance  Society ....   134 

To  ADVANCE  IN  SUNDAY  SCHOOLS. 

EDGAR  BLAKE,  Corresponding  Secretary  The  Board  of  Sunday  Schools.  1ST 

To  ADVANCE  IN  EDUCATION. 

THOMAS  NICHOLSON,  Corresponding  Secretary  Board  of  Education . .   141 

To  ADVANCE  IN  FREEDMEN'S  AID. 

P.  J.  MAVEETY,  Corresponding  Secretary  Freedmen's  Aid  Society . . .   149 

To  ADVANCE  IN  HOME  MISSIONS  AND  CHURCH  EXTENSION. 

WARD  PLATT,  C.  M.  BOSWELL,  Corresponding  Secretaries  Board  of 

Home  Missions  and  Church  Extension 155,  158 

To  ADVANCE  IN  FOREIGN  MISSIONS. 

W.  F.  OLDHAM,  Corresponding  Secretary  Board  of  Foreign  Missions . .  161 

II.  THE  CALL  OF  SOCIETY  AND  STATE. 

AMERICAN  CmEs  AND  THE  CITY  OP  GOD. 

\\  M.  F.  ANDERSON,  Bishop  Methodist  Episcopal  Church 169 

THE  CALL  TO  Cmc  RIGHTEOUSNESS. 

A.  W.  LEONARD,  Pastor  Methodist  Episcopal  Church.  Seattle 176 

THE  CALL  TO  SOCIAL  SERVICE. 

F.  J.  McCoNNELL,  Bishop  Methodist  Episcopal  Church 188 

III.    THE  CALL  OF  AMERICA  AND  OF  THE  WORLD. 

NEW  AMERICANS  FOR  A  NEW  AMERICA. 

E.  H.  HUGHES,  Bishop  Methodist  Episcopal  Church 190 

THE  CHALLENGE  OF  AN  AWAKENED  WORD. 

H.  C.  STUNTZ,  Bishop  Methodist  Episcopal  Church 199 

THE  (\LL  TO  WORLD  CONQUEST. 

J.  CAMPBELL  WHITE,  of  Interdenominational  Laymen's  Missionary 

Movement 906 

11 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS. 

IV. 
ACTUALIZING  THE  PROGRAM. 


I.    A  WORKING  PROGRAM  OUTLINED. 

MESSAGE  TO  THE  CHURCH 222 

A  WORKING  PROGRAM 225 

II.  METHODS  FOR  ACTUALIZING  THE  PROGRAM. 

THE  LAYMEN'S  MISSIONARY  MOVEMENT. 

FRANK  A.  HORNE,  Brooklyn,  N.  Y 229 

THE  METHODIST  BOOK  CONCERN. 

H.  C.  JENNINGS,  General  Publishing  Agent 232 

THE  METHODIST  FEDERATION  FOR  SOCIAL  SERVICE. 

HARRY  F.  WARD,  Secretary  Methodist  Federation  for  Social  Service.  288 
THE  COMMISSION  ON  EVANGELISM. 

J.  O.  RANDALL,  Secretary  Commission  on  Evangelism 241 

THE  EPWORTH  LEAGUE. 

W.  F.  SHERIDAN,  Corresponding  Secretary  Epworth  League 243 

OUR  BROTHER  IN  BLACK. 

I.  GARLAND  PENN,  Corresponding  Secretary  Freedmen's  Aid  Society.  245 
THE  METHODIST  BROTHERHOOD. 

W.  S.  BOVARD,  Secretary  Methodist  Brotherhood 247 

THE  ONE  FIXED  PURPOSE  IN  THE  LIFE  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

W.  E.  DOUGHTY,  Educational  Secretary  Interdenominational  Lay- 
men's Missionary  Movement 249 

III.  THE  NEW  DAY  AND  THE  PROGRAM. 

THE  NEW  DAY  AND  SOCIAL  REFORM. 

HERBERT  WELCH,  President  Ohio  Wesleyan  University 256 

THE  NEW  DAY  AND  CHRISTIAN  CITIZENSHIP. 

IRA  E.  ROBINSON,  West  Virginia 262 

THE  NEW  DAY  IN  EVANGELISM. 

L.  J.  BIRNEY,  Dean  Boston  School  of  Theology 269 

IV.  THE  LAYMEN  AND  THE  PROGRAM. 

WHAT  WOULD  You  BE  WORTH  IF  You  LOST  YOUR  MONEY? 

GEORGE   INNES,  Associate  Secretary  United  Presbyterian  Board  of 

Missions 277 

THE  LAYMAN'S  WITNESS  TO  A  SUPERNATURAL  GOSPEL. 

FRED  B.  SMITH,  Secretary  International  Committee,  Young  Men's 

Christian  Association 286 

12 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS. 

V. 
THE  LARGER  OUTLOOK. 


I.     FOR  EDUCATION,  LITERATURE,  AND  BENEVO- 
LENCE. 

FOR  EDUCATION. 

W.  H.  CRAWFORD,  President  Allegheny  College 297 

FOR  CHRISTIAN  LITERATURE. 

DAVID  G.  DOWNEY,  Book  Editor  for  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church.  304 

OUR  RETIREE  MINISTERS. 

J.  B.  HINOELET,  Corresponding  Secretary  Board  of  Conference  Claim- 

ants Sll 

MARVIN  CAMPBELL,  Treasurer  Board  of  Conference  Claimants  ....   315 

FOR  DEACONESS  WORK. 

D.  W.  HOWELL,  Corresponding  Secretary  of  the  General  Deaconesa 

Board 319 

THE  CHURCH  AT  LARGE. 

W.  O.  SHEPARD,  Bishop  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church 324 

II.     FOR  WORLD  CONQUEST. 

A  UNITED  CHURCH,  A  CONQUERING  CHURCH. 

GEORGE  P.  ECKMAN,  Editor  The  Christian  Advocate 330 

THE  OWNERSHIP  AND  LORDSHIP  OF  JESUB  CHRIST. 

GEORGE   SHERWOOD   EDDY,  Foreign  Secretary   International   Com- 
mittee, Young  Men's  Christian  Association 338 

III.  FOR  THE  OCCIDENT  AND  THE  ORIENT. 

THE  AMERICAN  REPUBLIC  A  WORLD  INFLUENCE. 

WM.  A.  QUAYLE,  Bishop  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church 346 

THE  CHINESE  REPUBLIC  AND  ITS  FUTURE. 

GEORGE   SIIERWOOD   EDDY,    Foreign  Secretary  International  Com- 
mittee, Young  Men's  Christian  Association 354 

IV.    CLOSING  WORDS. 

WM.  F.  ANDERSON,  Bishop  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church 364 

13 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS. 

VI. 
SPECIAL  FEATURES. 

ORGANIZING  THE  CONVENTION 369 

THE  CONVENTION  PROGRAM 370 

THE  MONUMENT  MEETING 374 

THE  CONVENTION  Music 374 

CARRYING  THE  CONVENTION  TO  THE  CHURCH 375 

SPECIAL  COMMITTEES 375 

SPECIAL  RESOLUTIONS  AND  INVITATIONS '. 376 

CHURCH  AND  PRESS 379 

CONCERNING  DELEGATES  . .  .  379 


14 


Introduction. 

IP  there  should  go  forth  a  call  for  three  thousand  Methodist 
men  to  serve  the  Church  for  an  entire  month  as  legislators 
and  electors  in  General  Conference,  with  all  expenses  paid, 
the  ready  response  of  fifty  thousand  volunteers  would  not 
be  nearly  so  remarkable  and  hopeful  a  fact  as  was  the  com- 
ing together  at  Indianapolis  of  two  thousand  five  hundred 
busy  Methodist  men  from  all  sections  of  the  country,  and 
at  their  own  expense,  to  consider  the  living  problems  now 
confronting  the  Church,  to  pray  for  a  clearer  vision  of 
duty,  and  plan  for  the  larger  sacrifices  demanded  by 
the  vision.  Besides  Bishop  Moore,  all  the  effective  bishops 
in  the  country  were  present — the  largest  number  ever  in 
attendance  at  any  gathering  except  at  General  Confer- 
ence or  at  their  own  semi-annual  meetings.  District 
Superintendents  were  there  from  almost  every  Confer- 
ence from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Pacific.  Pastors  and  laymen 
counted  into  the  thousands — men  who  see  and  read  and  feel 
and  act — not  seeking  more  burdens,  but  larger  results  through 
more  effective  methods.  These  leaders  of  the  Church,  ranging 
in  age  from  twenty-five  to  seventy-five,  remained  four  days 
in  sessions  aggregating  over  eight  hours  daily.  In  compact 
masses  they  sat,  filling  the  floor  and  platform  and  galleries 
of  the  large  hall,  listening  with  intense  religious  concern  to 
the  messages  which  followed  each  other  in  rapid  succession. 
Nearly  every  speaker  was  a  specialist  in  the  part  assigned 
him,  Leaders  of  other  Churches,  men  known  the  world  over, 

15 


INTRODUCTION. 

were  heard  with  generous  appreciation,  and  our  own  men  were 
at  their  best.  Systematically,  consecutively,  cumulatively, 
the  affairs  of  the  Kingdom  at  home  and  abroad  were  can- 
vassed, problems  measured,  needs  arrayed,  and  resources  mar- 
shaled. Again  and  again  conviction  found  voice  in  prayer  and 
faith  broke  forth  in  song.  Vision  succeeded  vision,  fact  was 
piled  upon  fact,  appeal  added  to  appeal,  yet  there  was  neither 
surfeit  of  speech  nor  loss  of  inspiring  effect.  God's  power  was 
upon  the  assembly.  There  these  men  sat  and  sang  and  prayed 
until  they  at  last  exulted  in  the  very  vastness  of  the  task  that 
challenged  their  faith  in  the  leadership  of  Christ  and  the 
almightiness  of  God.  No  general  interest  was  neglected. 

When  it  came  to  the  discussion  of  methods  and  means, 
the  Financial  Plan  adopted  by  the  last  General  Conference 
was  heartily  approved.  The  unifying  of  the  appeal  for  the 
several  great  Boards,  a  persistent  informational  and  inspira- 
tional campaign,  both  by  literature  and  co-operative  field  work, 
the  every-member  canvass,  the  use  of  the  duplex  envelope  for 
weekly  or  monthly  payments  to  insure  regular  and  systematic 
giving,  the  standard,  "as  much  for  others  as  for  ourselves," 
as  the  common  measure  of  our  stewardship  as  Christians; 
the  protection  of  our  congregations  against  indiscriminate 
and  unauthorized  appeals — these  were  the  great  features  of 
the  plan  commended. 

To  aid  the  benevolent  Boards  to  put  this  plan  before  all 
our  Churches  in  an  effective  way,  the  sum  of  sixty  thousand 
dollars  was  pledged  by  those  present.  This  fund  should  be 
at  once  increased  to  $300,000  for  the  next  two  years. 

China  and  India  are  ready  for  our  Lord  now.  The  plant- 
ing and  watering  of  many  years  have  made  ready  such  a 
harvest  time  as  the  Church  has  never  seen  and  can  never  see 

16 


INTRODUCTION. 

again.  The  conditions  in  our  own  country  are  perilous  in 
their  portent  unless  we  multiply  our  evangelistic  agencies 
everywhere.  E^ery  one  of  our  benevolent  Boards  has  iU 
place  among  the  forces  that  must  be  active  if  the  Republic 
is  to  live  and  fulfill  its  mission. 

THIS  BOOK  is  THE  GREAT  CONVENTION  IN  FEINT.  It  is  there- 
fore awakening,  arousing,  energizing,  informing,  persuading, 
convincing,  inspiring.  For  every  live  pastor  and  layman  its 
facts  and  visions  will  flame  into  quick  action.  For  the  listless 
and  inert,  who  prefer  ease  to  service,  we  must  trust  to  the 
fuses  lighted  by  the  Spirit  of  God  at  Indianapolis.  May  they 
burn  until  they  reach  all  the  stored  and  latent  dynamite  of 
Methodism ! 

District  Superintendents,  pastors,  and  lay  speakers  will 
here  find  just  the  material  for  effective  team-work  in  their  own 
district  and  local  areas. 

May  the  spirit  of  the  great  Indianapolis  meeting  of  Meth- 
odist men  spread  throughout  the  entire  Church ! 

EARL  CRANSTON. 


17 


PART  I. 

Opportunity  and  Task. 


l5rot!jrrl)ooD. 

THERE  was  ever  a  willfulness  in  Jesus'  voice.    The  sense  of  the  unre- 
alized often  fairly  ached  through  His  words.     A  wistful  look  was  in  His 

eyes,  a  wistful  mood  was  in  His  tears,  a  wistful  cadence  gave  His  words 
the  rainy  sweetness  of  tears  and  laughter  intermingled.  The  how  things  were 
to  be  was  on  Him,  not  in  a  lowering  way,  like  a  threatening  storm.  Nothing 
Carlyleian  was  with  Him.  He  did  not  practice  high  invective  as  an  end.  His 
swish  of  cords  upon  the  vulgar  shoulders  of  the  sellers  in  the  temple  was  not 
His  custom  and  never  His  delight.  His  custom  was  compassion.  He  was  not 
ominous,  despairing,  for  His  prophecy  swung  golden  bells  in  a  blue  sky  and 
rung  them  as  a  holy,  hymnic  chime. 

Christ  was  wistful;  for  a  world  He  dwelt  among  races  of  provincials.  The 
Jew,  the  Greek,  the  Roman  were  all  provincials.  Their  provinces  differed  in 
girth  a  little,  only  a  little.  Christ  whispered,  trumpeted,  wept,  sung,  preached, 
lived,  died — all  framing  a  wide,  unprovincial  word — The  World.  "Unto  the 
uttermost  parts  of  the  earth,"  was  the  summons  and  the  direction.  We  have 
been  learning  AT  it  a  long  time,  yet  have  we  not  learned  it.  The  size  has  bulked 
too  vast.  It  has  taken  the  breath  clean  out  of  us.  The  lash  of  a  storm-wave 
of  the  sea  which  leaves  the  swimmer  drenched,  breathless,  bleeding,  and  prone 
like  seaweed  on  the  shore  is  not  more  fierce  in  its  effects  than  this  majestic 
word  of  Jesus — "The  WORLD!" 

Yet  breathless  as  we  have  been,  we  shall  soon  stumble  to  our  feet.  In  a 
brief  hundred  years  earth  has  learned  earth,  world  has  perceived  world  beyond 
what  it  had  known  in  all  its  lifetime.  That  is  provocative  of  hope.  We  are 
coming  on.  "Who  is  my  neighbor?"  "Nobody  much,"  was  the  contempo- 
raneous reply.  "Everybody  mostly,"  is  OUR  contemporaneous  reply.  We  are 
learning,  blessed  be  God!  We  are  provincials,  but  are  slowly  acquiring  the 
world-speech.  The  vocabulary  of  a  planet  shall  by  and  by  express  the  thought 
that  blazes  within  the  soul. 

A  World  Brotherhood!  How  majestical  and  tidal!  It  rises  like  the  beat 
of  drums  that  challenge  to  a  fray.  We  fought  men  long,  too  long.  We  shall 
now  answer  the  summons  of  the  drums  to  fight  for  men. 

These  Methodist  men  from  many  wheres  have  prayed  together,  laughed 
together,  wept  together,  dreamed  together,  challenged  together,  learned  the 
world-mood  together.  We  have  been  conscious  of  the  whirling,  tremendous 
planet.  We  have  felt  it  swim  beneath  our  feet  like  the  rush  of  flying  angels. 

The  World  Brotherhood!  The  black,  the  yellow,  the  brown,  the  red,  the 
white,  equal  the  world — equal  what  Christ  died  for.  Hallelujah  and  amen. 

"God  hath  made  of  one  blood  all  kindreds  of  the  earth,"  was  a  procla- 
mation of  incalculable  breadth  and  wonder,  but  could  not  get  on.  The  consan- 
guinity of  blood  seems  to  lack  dynamic.  That  doctrine  made  no  specific  head- 
way. It  stood  inert,  or  nearly  so.  But  the  world  brotherhood,  by  the  shedding 
of  the  blood  of  Christ,  has  made  headway,  and  will  make  headway.  Christ, 
God-Man,  blood  of  our  blood,  and  the  mingled  blood  of  man  and  God,  and 
that  blood  spilled  for  THE  WORLD,  has  produced  world  brotherhood.  "This  is 
My  Blood  of  the  New  Testament,  shed  for  you  and  for  many" — that  many 
being  all,  has  availed.  The  prevailing  blood  was  what  the  Christ  sacrifice 
proved  to  be. 

And  thus  has  the  World  Brotherhood  passed  from  an  aerial  phantasy  to 
a  terrestrial  actuality,  permanency,  beneficence.  Brothers,  let  us  clasp  hands. 
Brother  men,  let  us  exalt  the  name  of  the  Lord  Christ  together.  Brother  Men, 
let  us  unite  in  prayer. 

WILLIAM  A.  QUAYLE. 

20 


Opportunity  and  Task. 

THE  larger  vision  of  the  life  in  Christ  was  experienced  in 
the  opening  minutes  of  the  National  Convention  of  Methodist 
Men,  for  the  home  of  the  Hon.  Charles  Warren  Fairbanks, 
who  as  general  chairman  of  the  Local  Committee  was  to  have 
opened  the  Convention,  was  a  house  of  bereavement.  Almost 
on  the  eve  of  this  great  gathering  of  men,  whose  coming 
he  had  anticipated  with  earnest  desire,  the  beloved  comrade 
through  the  years  of  his  labors  as  citizen,  statesman,  and 
Churchman,  passed  to  the  commendation  of  Him  in  whose 
service  she  had  spent  her  life.  Dr.  Joshua  Stansfield,  the  pas- 
tor of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Fairbanks,  speaking  a  word  of  welcome  to 
the  Convention  in  place  of  Mr.  Fairbanks,  said :  "In  the  de- 
cease of  Sister  Fairbanks  the  home,  the  Church,  the  State,  the 
Nation,  aye,  the  Methodism  of  the  round  world,  mourns  the 
departure  of  one  of  the  noblest  daughters  of  the  Church  and 
one  of  the  most  loyal,  gracious,  and  serviceful  of  women,  a 
truly  elect  lady.  But  while  we  sorrow,  we  sorrow  not  as  those 
who  have  no  hope,  for  we  have  laid  away  her  precious  body 
in  sure  and  certain  hope  that  the  dead  in  Christ  shall  live 
again,  and  we  are  confident  that  so  noble,  strong  and  good 
a  soul  has  gone  forward  and  upward  to  a  yet  larger  life  and 
service. ' ' 

Bishop  David  H.  Moore,  who  as  co-chairman  with  Mr. 
Fairbanks  of  the  Local  Committee,  opened  the  Convention, 
declared  in  announcing  the  death  of  Mrs.  Fairbanks,  that 
she  was  to  her  husband  ' '  the  companion  of  his  life,  the  sharer 
of  all  his  joys  and  sorrows,  his  steadfast  friend  and  coun- 
selor, a  woman  who  illustrated  all  the  beauties  of  the  domestic 
relations,  of  social  and  public  life,  and  particularly  of  the 
Christian  life."  He  was  also  compelled  to  announce  the  death 
of  Dr.  Robert  Forbes,  corresponding  secretary  of  the  Board 
of  Home  Missions  and  Church  Extension — "a  man  who  has 
been  in  the  forefront  of  the,  battle  to  bring  this  country  under 
the  dominion  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ. ' ' 

It  was,  therefore,  with  a  new  and  sharpened  sense  that 
the  King's  business  demanded  efficiency  and  haste,  that  the 

21 


MILITANT  METHODISM. 

delegates,  their  hearts  tender  and  warm  with  Christian  sym- 
pathy and  love,  listened  and  watched  as  the  foundations  for 
the  work  of  the  Convention  were  laid  by  such  master  builders 
as  Speer,  McDowell,  and  Nuelsen.  For  no  mean  study  was 
to  be  made.  Methodism  early  to<5k  the  world  for  her  parish, 
albeit,  scarcely  realizing  what  its  content  would  be  in  the 
many-sided  life  of  the  nations  of  to-day.  It  was  both  essential 
and  fitting  that  the  central  task  of  the  Church  of  Christ  be 
faced  squarely  at  the  start  in  order  that  it  might  be  discov- 
ered whether  Methodism's  mission  and  message  are  attune  to 
the  heart-cry  of  the  world-folk.  With  a  full  appreciation  of 
the  central  task  and  an  interpretation  of  Methodism's  mission 
and  message  into  its  universal  demand,  the  achievements  of 
our  Church  take  on  new  meaning,  and  the  larger  opportunities 
set  before  her  become  privileges  of  service  for  all  her  children. 


The  Central  Task  of  the  Church  of  Christ. 
ROBERT  E.  SPEER. 

WHEN  the  future  student  of  the  history  of  the  Christian 
Church  and  of  the  higher  life  of  man  looks  back  upon  our 
time,  it  is  interesting  to  conjecture  what  his  judgment  will 
be  as  to  what  was  its  really  greatest  movement  on  life.  Will 
he  select  popular  education,  with  its  emancipation  of  the 
mind  of  man  from  superstition,  its  new  sense  of  human 
values  and  possibilities?  Will  he  select  the  great  scientific 
advancement  of  our  day  and  its  influence  upon  our  common 
life,  or  its  bearing  upon  our  thoughts  of  God  and  of  the 
world?  Will  he  select  the  changing  emphasis  which  our  day 
has  seen  from  the  individual  to  society  as  a  whole?  Will 
he  pick  out  some  one  of  the  theological  movements  of  the 
time  involving  changed  emphasis  in  men's  thinking?  I  do 
not  believe  he  will  select  any  one  of  these,  but  a  movement 
greater  than  any  one  of  these,  affecting  and  including  all  of 
these.  I  believe  he  will  select  the  courage  and  the  success  of 
the  rediscovery  and  the  reaffirmation  of  the  missionary  prin- 
ciple ;  that,  looking  back  over  the  century  and  a  quarter  that 

22 


OPPORTUNITY  AND  TASK. 

lie  behind  us,  and  the  seventy-five  years,  perhaps,  that  lie 
just  in  advance  of  us,  he  will  select  as  the  deepest  and  most 
characteristic  movement  of  this  time  Christianity's  readjust- 
ment of  its  mission  and  the  reassertion  by  Christian  men  of 
their  obligation  to  carry  the  sovereignty  of  the  gospel  over 
all  the  world  and  into  all  the  life  of  men.  It  may  be  that 
some  will  answer  that  in  no  small  measure,  at  least,  this  is 
not  a  movement  peculiarly  of  our  day;  that  this  is  only  the 
central  characteristic  of  what  we  speak  of  as  the  Protestant 
Reformation.  But  the  Reformation  was  really  a  geographically 
provincial  movement.  It  influenced  the  people  of  only  one 
continent,  and  of  only  part  of  that  continent.  It  never  faced 
the  great  issues  of  comparative  religion.  It  knew  nothing  of 
great  areas  of  human  life  that  lay  beyond  the  territories  in 
which  the  influence  of  the  Reformation  was  felt.  And  even 
within  those  territories  it  did  not  deal  with  all  the  life  of 
men.  Even  the  dawn  of  the  nineteenth  century  had  left 
the  common  man  outside  the  real,  penetrating  purposes  of 
the  Christian  gospel.  It  is  clear,  with  no  exaggeration  of 
the  movement  in  which  our  own  lives  are  cast,  that  the  future 
student,  looking  back  upon  our  day,  will  pick  out  that  great 
movement  illustrated  in  the  Church,  that  great  movement 
of  the  rediscovery  and  reconstruction  of  Christianity  in  mis- 
sionary times  as  the  great  movement  of  the  world's  life  in 
the  nineteenth  and  twentieth  centuries. 

I  spoke  of  the  courage  of  that  rediscovery  and  reaffirma- 
tkm.  It  is  an  easy  thing  for  us  gathered  here  to-day  to  take 
a  world  vision  and  dare  to  front  all  the  life  of  our  own  time 
with  the  name  of  Christ  and  say,  "Over  you  Christ  shall  be 
Sovereign,  King."  Looking  back  a  century  and  a  quarter, 
we  realize  what  a  bold  and  daring  thing  it  was  for  the  men 
of  that  time,  who  for  the  first  time  saw  the  glorious  missionary 
character  of  our  Christian  faith,  that,  with  resources  or  with- 
out them,  in  the  name  of  their  new  vision  they  came  out  of 
the  old  to  help  the  world  into  the  new.  I  speak  not  alone 
of  the  courage  of  the  rediscovery  of  the  missionary  prin- 

23 


MILITANT  METHODISM. 

ciples,  but  its  success  as  well.  A  success  that  has  now  eaten 
itself  into  the  whole  moral  conscience  of  the  world,  so  that 
everywhere  men  and  nations  are  doing  their  thinking  to-day 
because  they  do  their  breathing  in  the  atmosphere  of  Chris- 
tian faith.  And,  looking  ahead  in  imagination,  that  student 
whom  we  have  in  mind  will  judge  all  the  activities  of  men 
by  the  relationship  which  they  bore  to  this  movement,  by 
the  clearness  and  the  daring  in  which  they  dealt  with  the 
great  problems  confronting  the  Church  of  our  time.  Those 
problems  are  shifting  under  our  eyes.  When  we  speak  of  the 
central  task  of  the  Christian  Church  we  say  what  John  Wesley 
and  Charles  Wesley  and  John  Rollins  and  William  Sutcliffe 
said  a  century  and  a  quarter  ago,  but  in  another  sense  we  must 
say  an  entirely  different  thing.  I  have  been  working  for  a 
quarter  of  a  century  in  connection  with  this  missionary  enter- 
prise, and  I  have  seen  the  problems  shift  at  least  five  times 
in  that  period,  so  that  men  to-day  who  are  to  grapple  with 
the  Church's  central  task  must  look  out  on  the  world  with 
different  eyes  from  what  men  looked  out  with  twenty-five 
years  ago. 

For  one  thing,  we  have  had  driven  in  upon  us,  as  no  other 
decade  ever  had,  the  problem  of  putting  a  new  spirit  in  the 
whole  relationship  of  the  world,  of  turning  this  world  neigh- 
borhood that  has  been  created  into  a  great  relationship  of 
brotherly  men.  Now,  that  the  neighborhood  has  been  created, 
there  is  no  gainsaying.  We  might  as  well  come  out  of  our 
insular  provincialism  and  face  our  problems.  God  has  given 
us  one  compacted  life  to  live  in.  Three  years  ago  I  rode  up 
the  west  coast  of  South  America  with,  a  Peruvian  gentleman 
who  had  just  then  been  appointed  prefect  of  the  city  of 
Equitos,  far  up  the  head-waters  of  the  Amazon.  It  was  only 
a  few  miles  from  the  capital  city  of  Lima.  The  route  he  was 
taking  took  him  two  weeks'  journey,  from  Callao  to  Panama. 
Another  week's  journey  from  Panama  to  New  York  City;  an- 
other week's  journey  from  New  York  City  to  Liverpool,  and 
four  weeks'  journey  from  Liverpool  back  across  the  Atlantic 

24 


OPPORTUNITY  AND  TASK. 

and  up  the  Amazon.  That  was  the  shortest  route.  We  used 
to  say  that  the  whole  world  was  larger  than  any  of  its  parts, 
but  when  you  have  to  travel  to  Europe,  going  twice  across 
the  Atlantic  Ocean,  to  reach  a  point  that  would  be  but  a 
short  journey  across  land  in  Peru,  it  would  seem  that  the 
whole  world  is  smaller  than  most  of  its  parts  to-day.  We 
are  facing  a  geographically  contracted  world  which  compels 
every  man  to  touch  elbows  with  every  other  man,  and  we 
are  beginning  to  realize  that  there  is  but  a  single  industrial 
community  in  which  we  have  to  do  our  work.  Four  years 
ago  I  spent  the  winter  in  Scotland,  a  great  part  of  it  in  Aber- 
deen, which  is  the  center  of  the  greatest  meat  market  in  Great 
Britain ;  they  said  it  would  always  be  their  own,  but,  walking 
along  the  main  street,  I  saw  a  new  shop  and  in  glittering 
letters  "The  River  Platte  Meat  Company."  I  went  down 
to  the  city  of  Dundee,  where  the  jute  mills  were  lying  idle, 
and  when  I  asked  the  reason  they  gave  me  the  answer  in  the 
terms  of  the  crops  in  the  Philippine  Islands.  A  friend  of 
mine  came  from  China  a  few  months  since,  and  in  one  of 
the  Eastern  cities  told  about  a  cargo  of  iron  that  had  been 
made  in  the  blast  furnaces  of  the  city  of  Hankow,  and  they 
brought  that  iron  around  the  world  and  sold  it  in  the  harbor 
of  New  York.  When  he  got  through,  a  gentleman  came  up 
and  said,  "I  bought  that  iron,  and  I  paid  all  the  duty  that 
was  levied  in  New  York  upon  it,  and  took  it  to  Buffalo  and 
paid  the  duty  charged  by  Canada,  and  I  sold  it  at  a  profit 
in  Toronto."  Whether  we  like  it  or  not,  the  fingers  of  God 
are  closing  in  upon  us  and  making  us  one  industrial  com- 
munity and  making  out  of  us  one  common  family  with  a 
single  intellectual  life.  I  was  in  South  America  during  the 
Arctic  episode  of  a  few  years  ago,  and  I  found  that  the  chief 
topic  of  conversation  in  South  America,  even  away  on  the 
top  of  the  Andes  Mountains,  was  that  same  subject  current 
all  over  the  world.  There  died  this  last  month  in  the  city 
of  Tokio  the  nestor  of  Congregational  missions  in  Japan, 
Daniel  Crosby  Green,  one  of  the  really  great  men  of  our 

25 


MILITANT  METHODISM. 

day,  because  he  saw  that  there  is  not  any  longer  an  insulated 
people;  that  all  that  is  stirring  in  the  local  life  are  the  things 
that  are  stirring  through  all  the  life  of  mankind.  We  have 
to  face  the  fact  and  construct  the  work  of  the  Christian  Church 
in  the  light  of  a  single  compacted  world.  It  is  a  terrible 
thing  to  deal  with  conditions  like  these  unless  all  your  neigh- 
bors are  your  brothers.  If  a  man  is  not  to  be  the  friend  of 
another  man,  the  wider  the  distance  separating  them,  the 
better;  if  he  and  the  other  man  are  to  live  with  no  fence 
or  a  low  fence  between  them,  woe  be  to  them  if  they  can  not 
live  there  like  brother-men !  We  face  a  new  world,  a  world 
in  which  Christianity  has  not  to  deal  with  any  isolated  people, 
but  with  all  mankind  at  once,  and  we  have  to  penetrate  that 
human  neighborhood  with  the  spirit  of  brotherly  good-will. 
In  the  second  place,  we  have  to  face  to-day  the  new  prob- 
lem of  directing  and  controlling  the  great  tides  of  life  which 
are  astir  for  the  first  time  across  the  world.  There  is  no 
gentleman  here  who  can  not  remember  when  the  standard 
books  on  the  life  of  the  great  East  were  the  books  of  Mr. 
George  Curzon  and  Mr.  Meredith  Townsend,  every  one  of 
whom  was  preaching  twenty-five  years  ago  the  doctrine  of 
the  perpetual  isolation  of  Asia,  that  one  half  of  humanity 
was  isolated  from  the  other  half  by  a  chasm  that  could  never 
be  bridged,  that  a  fiat  of  arrest  had  fallen  upon  the  yellow 
races  so  that  they  were  inaccessible  to  any  new  principles  of 
life  from  without,  and  that  we  had  to  accept  the  situation  that 
the  world  was  split  in  twain;  but  we  have  lived  to  see  the 
utter  stupidity  of  such  views,  and  we  are  called  upon  now 
to  direct  a  great,  swelling  tide  of  educational  interest  such  as 
was  never  in  the  world  before.  You  know  the  problem  that 
we  have  in  the  United  States  of  keeping  our  secular  educa- 
tion from  destroying  us;  here  you  have  to  toil  to  uudergird 
it  with  morals  and  religious  sanctions;  but  how  are  you  to 
do  where  the  Christian  tradition  does  not  permeate  the  whole 
life  of  the  land?  I  ask  you  to  think  what  that  problem  is 
among  the  eight  hundred  millions  of  Asia,  where  that  Chris- 

26 


OPPORTUNITY  AND  TASK. 

tian  atmosphere  is  not  to  be  found,  where  the  old  religious 
sanctions  have  decayed,  where  our  modern  secular  educa- 
tion is  operating  upon  the  lives  of  eight  hundred  million 
people  who  can  not  supplement  it  in  their  own  homes  with 
the  saving  principles  of  sound  ethics.  We  face  to-day  the 
great  problem  of  moralizing  the  education  of  ono-half  of 
humanity.  We  have  to  deal  with  the  great  industrial  cur- 
rent that  is  beginning  to  sweep  across  the  world.  The  Argen- 
tine Republic  to-day  exports  every  year  about  twenty  times 
as  much  as  China  exports,  leaving  out  of  account  their  relative 
population.  China  exports  to-day  about  one  hundred  and 
eighty-eight  million  dollars'  worth  of  goods;  if  she  exported 
as  much  per  capita  as  the  Argentine  Republic  to-day,  and  she 
is  far  richer — she  has  mineral  resources  of  which  Argentina 
can  not  dream — she  would  not  be  exporting  one  hundred  and 
eighty-eight  millions,  but  twenty-seven  thousand  millions  of 
dollars  every  year !  We  stand  to  confront  the  most  tremendous 
industrial  avalanche  that  ever  broke  loose  upon  mankind,  and 
we  have  to  fraternalize  that  great  human  power.  Then,  there 
is  the  great  tide  of  nationalistic  feeling  that  is  making  a 
new  world  out  of  our  world,  differing  radically  from  that  in 
which  our  fathers  lived.  Great  Britain  subdued  India  with 
not  more  than  two  hundred  thousand  white  soldiers,  and  has 
kept  India  in  a  species  of  serfdom,  and  the  question  is  asked, 
How  were  they  able  to  hold  two  hundred  and  ninety-eight 
millions  of  people?  And  the  answer  is,  Because  there  was 
no  such  thing  as  an  Indian  nation,  but  only  a  great  chaos 
of  diverse  races.  Why  was  it  that  people  after  people,  whom 
China  in  the  day  of  her  power  would  shake  off  as  a  strong 
man,  were  able  to  humiliate  China  in  the  days  gone  by  f  Be- 
cause there  was  no  Chinese  nation.  But  now  a  spirit  of  nation- 
alism is  arising  in  those  Eastern  lands.  How  are  you  going 
to  humanize  this  nationalism?  We  must  bring  to  bear  upon 
it  a  universal  religion  with  universal  brotherhood,  with  a 
spirit  of  universal  relation;  and  every  one  of  the  non-Chris- 
tian religions  has  denied  that  brotherhood.  We  have  seen 

27 


MILITANT  METHODISM. 

turned  loose  in  the  world  to-day  great  energies  that  make  a 
man  stand  still  and  gasp  unless  there  is  somewhere  in  the 
world  a  hand  that  can  be  laid  upon  them  and  say  to  them, 
ftl  am  your  Lord." 

In  the  next  place,  we  face  the  problem  of  reinforcing  and 
re-empowering  our  home  Christianity  so  it  will  not  be  a  refu- 
tation of  our  whole-world  proclamation  of  the  gospel,  so  that 
it  will  penetrate  human  life  and  all  human  relations,  and  one 
looking  behind  him  to  the  land  from  which  he  came  will  not 
see  a  denial  of  his  doctrine.  I  have  talked  with  groups  of 
students  on  this  subject,  who  have  raised  the  argument  of  our 
failure  to  have  our  Christianity  regnant  in  the  social  and 
moral- life  of  our  land.  Among  our  problems  that  we  have 
to  solve  is  that  of  the  organization  of  the  Christian  Church 
so  that  we  can  go  to  the  people  on  the  other  side  of  the  world 
"  and  say,  "This  is  the  Christian  Church;  it  will  apply  any- 
where." How  do  you  explain  the  turned  keys  in  the  doors 
of  the  country  churches?  How  do  you  explain  the  numbers 
of  Churches  at  home  that  stand  impotent  before  their  tasks 
as  though  they  were  planted  across  the  sea?  How  do  we 
know  that  we  have  the  Christianity  and  the  terms  and  forms 
that  really  fit  the  lives  of  the  Asiatic  peoples  until  we  have 
found  how  they  fit  perfectly  the  lives  of  our  own  Western 
peoples?  Here  are  the  problems,  industrial,  ethical,  educa- 
tional, social,  moral — the  great  questions  of  our  own  day. 
One  of  the  great  problems  of  our  day  is  the  problem  of  so 
releasing  in  our  own  land  those  energies  of  the  Christian  faith 
in  which  we  believe  that  they  will  make  out  of  the  very  char- 
acter of  our  Nation  an  unanswerable  proclamation  of  Christ 
to  all  the  world  of  men. 

In  the  next  place,  we  are  facing  the  problem  of  how  to  put 
God  to  a  greater  test  than  we  have  ever  put  Him  to  before, 
how  to  prove  what  we  have  never  dared  to  prove  Him  to  do  in 
the  days  gone  by.  We  believe  in  His  sufficiency.  We  stand 
confronting  the  great  unsolved  problems  of  our  own  modern 
world:  why  are  they  unsolved  in  view  of  the  sufficiency  of 

28 


OPPORTUNITY  AND  TASK. 

God?  Because  the  men  have  not  been  found  yet  who  are 
ready  to  venture  out  far  enough  upon  the  divine  sufficiency. 
We  stand  in  the  presence  of  the  great  problem  of  trying  God 
out,  of  putting  Him  to  the  tests  to  which  He  has  challenged 
us  against  the  intricate  problems  of  our  own  land,  against 
the  mass  of  world  problems  rolling  in  upon  us  from  the  non- 
Christian  world.  I  dare  to  say  again  that  the  unbiased  student 
of  the  future,  whom  we  have  been  imagining  looking  back  upon 
our  day,  will  judge  of  movements  and  men  by  the  clearness 
with  which  they  discerned  and  the  courage  with  which  they 
dealt  with  these  great  problems  that  constitute  to-day  the 
central  task  of  the  Christian  Church.  There  is  no  evading 
these  tasks.  Long  enough  the  Church  has  sought  to  evade 
them,  and  what  has  been  the  consequence?  She  has  tried  to 
make  out  of  the  gospel  a  solace  to  the  soul  of  the  individual 
man  (which,  God  knows,  it  was  meant  to  be)  and  tried  to 
make  out  of  it  a  sort  of  a  separate  institution  planted  in  the 
world,  holding  itself  aloof  from  all  the  great  things  of  the 
world  for  which  the  Savior  laid  down  His  life.  And  what 
has  been  the  consequence  ?  Why,  the  Lord  has  multiplied  our 
problems:  He  has  said,  "You  will  evade  your  obligations  to 
the  rest  of  the  world,  will  you?  Well,  here  are  the  Negroes; 
take  them."  He  has  said:  "You  will  sit  down  within  your 
own  gates,  will  you?  Well,  here  are  the  Philippine  Islands; 
take  them. ' '  He  has  said :  ' '  You  are  content  with  what  your 
fathers  had,  are  you?  Well,  I  will  open  the  Eastern  gates 
wide  and  pour  in  the  uncounted  hordes  from  Europe;  take 
them."  There  is  no  escaping  these  modern  central  tasks  of 
the  Christian  Church:  Every  year's  negligence  of  any  one 
of  these  tasks  provokes  the  righteous  God  to  multiply  our 
burdens  and  to  confront  us  with  larger  problems  to  be  dealt 
with. 

Great  as  the  problems  are,  and  loud  as  the  challenge  of 
God  may  be,  we  know  that  in  this  very  missionary  recon- 
struction of  Christianity,  which  has  defined  for  us  our  new 
tasks,  lie  also  powers  adequate  to  cope  with  those  problems. 

29 


MILITANT  METHODISM. 

The  missionary  reconstruction  of  Christianity  has  shown  us 
that  the  gospel  is  the  great  educational  power  of  the  world. 
We  are  beginning  to  discover  that  the  Church  has  back  in 
her  hands  once  more  those  great  agencies  which  for  a  little 
time  it  seemed  she  would  let  slip  into  the  hands  of  the  enemy. 
I  spoke  of  those  great  tides  that  had  begun  to  stir ;  who  started 
them?  The  Christian  missionaries  who  planted  the  first  real 
school  in  each  one  of  those  non-Christian  lands.  They  were  the 
ones  who  laid  the  foundations  of  real  education  for  the  people 
in  those  non-Christian  lands.  There  is  in  our  new  reconstruc- 
tion of  Christianity  the  educational  force  that  can  drive  home 
to  the  world's  need.  We  have  found  the  great  vitalizing 
power.  Never  can  you  solve  those  problems  by  any  mechan- 
istic methods,  such  as  inhere  in  commerce :  life  has  never  been 
transmitted  except  by  life;  life  can  not  be  communicated  to 
the  great  world  except  by  life.  I  think  that  is  what  Sir  Wil- 
liam Me  Worth  Young  had  in  mind  when  he  came  home  the 
other  day  from  the  lieutenant-governorship  of  the  Punjab, 
and  spoke  to  a  great  gathering  of  men  like  this  in  London; 
he  spoke  as  a  business  man  to  business  men,  and  he  said: 
"I  am  prepared  to  say  that  what  has  been  done  by  the  life 
of  Christ  through  missions  in  India  is  greater  than  all  that 
has  been  done  by  the  British  Government  in  India  from  the 
beginning ;  I  do  not  underrate  the  influence  of  British  justice 
and  enlightenment,  but  I  am  prepared  to  say  that  the  work 
that  has  been  done  by  Christian  missions  in  the  Punjab 
is  vastly  greater;  the  Punjab  bears  on  its  roll  the  names  of 
some  great  Christian  statesmen — John  and  Henry  Lawrence, 
and  Herbert  Edwards — but  I  am  prepared  to  say  that  if  they 
could  speak  to  us  there  is  not  one  of  them  but  what  would 
say  that  the  work  that  had  been  done  by  missionaries  like 
French  and  Newton  and  Clark  and  Foreman  was  a  greater 
and  nobler  work  and  more  far-reaching  in  its  consequences. ' ' 
We  possess  in  this  missionary  reconstruction  of  our  faith  the 
final  power  that  can  penetrate  beneath  the  crust  of  the  world 's 
death  and  plant  the  germs  of  life  and  power  there. 

30 


OPPORTUNITY  AND  TASK. 

Last  of  all,  we  possess  in  this  new  construction  in  our 
modern  conceptions  of  Christian  faith  what  always  was 
there,  but  what  for  long  centuries  men  have  lost  the  conscious- 
ness of  as  a  great  conciliating  and  unifying  power.  You  know 
how  prominent  that  was  in  Saint  Paul's  mind  when  he  spoke 
of  the  power  of  Christ  to  break  down  partitions  built  across 
the  world  and  to  preach  to  them  that  were  near  and  far  and 
bring  them  all  into  one  great  peace.  That  is  the  greatest 
problem  of  our  own  modern  day ;  surely  every  man  must  see 
that  that  is  the  deepest  and  most  unsolvable  problem  in  the 
face  of  the  facts  that  confront  us,  the  problem  of  race. 
How  long  does  God  intend  it  to  continue?  How  much  does 
He  mean  that  each  race  must  guard  its  own  separate  racial 
personality?  Who  knows  what  He  means  by  race?  We 
stand  dumb  before  the  problem  that  faced  us  in  Cali- 
fornia last  year,  and  the  problem  that  faces  us  in  the 
whole  woman  movement  of  our  day,  and  the  problem  fronting 
us  now  in  the  Negro  situation  of  our  own  land,  the  problem 
of  the  relation  of  race  to  race.  Who  holds  the  solution  of  that 
problem,  the  problem  that  is  going  to  fill  our  children's  world 
after  us  with  hate  and  hell  unless  we  begin  the  solution  now? 
Who  holds  the  solution  of  that  problem  but  those  who  know 
that  in  Jesus  Christ  there  is  neither  Greek  nor  barbarian, 
bond  nor  free?  A  great  ethnologist  has  told  us  that  the  pro- 
foundest  word  that  St.  Paul  ever  said  was  that  word  that  in 
Christ  the  chasm  of  sex,  the  chasm  of  slavery,  and  the  chasm 
of  citizenship  had  all  been  wiped  away  and  all  mankind  made 
one.  Do  we  believe  that?  Has  the  missionary  reconstruction 
so  woven  itself  into  our  lives  that  we  believe  that?  I  con- 
ceive this  to  be  the  great  central  task  of  Christ's  Church  in 
this  present  hour — that  you  and  I  like  men,  clear-eyed,  un- 
fearing,  with  a  new  and  living  confidence  in  God  that  has  no 
limits  to  it,  who  dare  cope  with  any  problem  on  earth,  shall 
face  the  world  in  which  we  live  and  claim  that  world,  this 
world  that  we  face  to-day,  as  a  world  over  which  Jesus  Christ 
is  to  be  King.  He  asks  us  to  try  Him  as  to  whether  He  can 

31 


MILITANT  METHODISM. 

carry  a  scepter.  "Prove  Me  now."  That  is  His  old  word. 
Prove  Me  now,  prove  Me  now  herewith,  by  bringing  your 
tithes — all  the  tithes,  the  whole  of  them — which  are  Mine, 
bringing  these  to  Me,  and  trying  Me  now.  0,  that  in  the 
days  of  this  gathering  there  may  come  down  such  a  new  spirit 
of  simple  and  living  faith  as  shall  make  us  bold  to  try  to  the 
limit  the  limitless  God! 


32 


Methodism:  Its  Mission  and  Message. 

WILLIAM  ERASER  Me  Do  WELL. 

I  DO  not  quite  like  this  topic.  Methodism  has  no  message  of 
its  own,  and  no  mission  except  as  a  servant  of  Jesus  Christ. 
We  speak  the  Christian  message,  and  if  we  are  true,  we  per- 
form Jesus  Christ's  task.  For  our  world's  plans  were  not 
made  either  at  Fetter-Lane  or  at  Oxford.  They  have  been 
made  in  the  heart  of  the  eternal  God.  And  that  ancient 
Methodist  who  in  a  moment  of  pious  rapture  thanked  God 
for  John  Wesley 's  plan  of  salvation  was  just  a  litle  bit  wide 
of  the  mark.  Now,  if  there  were  time,  I  should  want  to 
amplify  three  propositions,  which  three  propositions,  I  frankly 
state  at  the  beginning  of  what  I  have  to  say,  conscious  that 
the  exposing  of  the  whole  outline  in  advance  is  not  always 
good  homiletics. 

Proposition  number  one:  Christianity  has  a  message  so 
unique,  so  necessary  to  the  world,  so  rich  and  fruitful  in  its 
contents,  so  superior  to  any  other  message  known  to  the  world 
as  to  constitute  it  not  only  a  real  gospel,  but  the  only  gospel 
for  mankind.  Proposition  number  two:  The  world  is  lost 
and  will  continue  to  be  lost  unless  in  some  real  fashion  the 
world  gets  this  message,  which  is  the  glorious  gospel  of  the 
blessed  God.  Proposition  number  three:  The  message  of 
Christianity  is  this  message,  and  the  mission  of  Christianity 
is  the  carrying  this  message  in  Christlike  fashion  to  the  world 
which  dies  for  the  lack  of  it.  Now,  these  are  the  three  points 
I  wish  to  make.  I  am  not  quite  sure  but  that,  having  stated 
them,  they  are  sufficiently  made.  And  yet  perhaps  it  may 
be  fair  to  emphasize  them  a  bit  for  the  purpose  of  their  simple 
statement. 

What,  then,  is  Christianity's  message  which  constitutes  it 

33 


MILITANT  METHODISM. 

a  gospel?  As  significant  books  as  have  appeared  in  recent 
theology  have  been  those  books  which  in  one  form  or  another 
have  sought  to  answer  the  question,  "What  is  Christianity?" 
And  I  am  bound  to  say  that,  recognizing  fully  our  large  debt 
to  these  very  able  discussions,  it  seems  to  me  that  they  are 
rather  needlessly  elaborated  and  complicated.  I  think  they 
would  bother  a  Chinaman  or  a  low-caste  Indian  or  a  native 
of  the  interior  of  Africa  just  a  bit.  They  would  not  quite 
meet  that  test  of  the  gospel  which  is  the  practical  test,  namely, 
Can  the  gospel  be  immediately  preached  on  the  streets?  So 
if  you  ask  what  is  Christianity's  message,  I  should  try  to 
answer,  thinking  of  the  Indian  man  that  stands  here  making 
his  first  inquiry  about  Christianity,  of  the  Chinese  man  stand- 
ing here  asking,  "What  is  this  message?"  And  I  should  an- 
swer in  terms  that  were  perfectly  simple,  This  Christian  mes- 
sage is  this,  "God  was  in  Christ  reconciling  the  world  unto 
Himself."  This  is  Christianity's  message,  "The  Son  of  man 
is  come  to  seek  and  to  save  that  which  was  lost."  This  is 
Christianity's  message,  "God  so  loved  the  world  that  He  gave 
His  only  begotten  Son,  that  whosoever  believeth  in  Him  should 
not  perish  but  have  everlasting  life."  We  have  lost  some- 
thing of  the  sharpness  and  acuteness  of  this  wonderful  mes- 
sage by  our  long  familiarity  with  it.  But  we  ought  to  thank 
God  with  our  whole  hearts  that  we  have  a  message  that  can 
be  stated  in  a  dozen  words. 

Now  I  will  rest  Christianity's  case  upon  one  word,  "Re- 
demption," and  I  will  risk  Christianity's  case  upon  one  Per- 
son, the  Redeemer.  In  any  land  at  any  hour  I  will  face  the 
sin,  the  sorrow,  the  strife,  the  hate,  the  shame,  and  the  death 
of  that  world  with  that  Person,  the  Redeemer,  and  that  mes- 
sage, His  redemption.  The  Redeemer  is  Christianity 's  Gift  to 
mankind.  The  redemption  of  all  life  is  Christianity's  pur- 
pose for  mankind.  I  would  not  cross  the  street  to  give  India 
a  new  theology;  India  has  more  theology  than  it  can  under- 
stand. I  would  not  cross  the  street  to  give  China  a  new  code 
of  ethics;  China  has  a  vastly  better  ethical  code  than  ethical 

34 


OPPORTUNITY  AND  TASK. 

life.  I  would  not  cross  the  street  to  give  Japan  a  new  re- 
ligions literature,  for  Japan  has  a  better  religious  literature 
than  religious  life.  But  I  would  go  around  the  world  again, 
and  yet  again,  if  it  pleased  God,  to  tell  India  and  China  and 
Africa  and  the  rest  of  the  world : 

"There  is  a  fountain  filled  with  blood. 

Drawn  from  Immanuel's  veins, 
And  sinners  plunged  beneath  that  flood 
Lose  all  their  guilty  stains." 

Some  of  us  were  brought  up  on  certain  familiar  lines.  I  do 
not  doubt  that  I  could  set  this  great  assembly  singing,  if  I 
had  time  to  do  so,  by  the  simple  repetition  of  these  lines,  which 
were  true  in  our  infancy,  which  are  true  this  morning  as  we 
face  manhood 's  tasks : 

"There  is  no  name  so  sweet  on  earth. 

No  name  so  sweet  in  heaven: 
The  name,  before  His  wondrous  birth. 
To  Christ  the  Savior  given." 

"Thou  shalt  call  His  name  Jesus,  for  He  shall  save  His 
people  from  their  sins."  This  constitutes  the  message  of 
Christianity;  this  makes  it  unique;  this  makes  it  essential; 
this  separates  it  from  all  others.  Dr.  Speer  has  just  spoken 
of  the  new  adjustments  that  have  come  in  consequence  of  the 
study  of  comparative  religions.  I  myself  am  old  enough  to 
remember  when  we  were  almost  afraid  that  we  would  dis- 
cover some  excellence  outside  of  Christianity.  It  seemed  to 
us  then  that  if  we  discovered  anything  good  in  any  other 
religion,  it  some  way  would  disparage  Christianity  as  the 
absolute  religion.  And  honestly,  I  myself  shared  that  fright 
and  was  not  a  little  bit  disturbed  when  it  was  pointed  out 
in  my  youth  that  in  negative  form  the  Chinese  did  have  the 
Golden  Rule.  The  time  was  when  some  of  us  were  almost 
afraid  to  discover  any  virtue  in  the  lives  of  those  whom  we 
called  broadly  "Heathen."  Long  since,  bless  God!  we  have 
got  past  that.  We  are  no  longer  disturbed  by  the  discovery 

35 


MILITANT  METHODISM. 

of  virtues  outside  of  Christianity,  or  excellencies  in  other 
religions  than  the  Christian  religion.  The  one  heart-breaking 
thing  as  you  face  the  non-Christian  world  and  its  religions  on 
the  ground,  is  not  the  virtues  that  you  can  discover,  but  the 
virtues  that  you  can  not  discover.  And  if  you  find  a  shining 
character  standing  up  in  the  midst  of  them,'  you  have  it  for 
a  point  of  contact  between  Christianity  and  that  land  in 
which  he  has  arisen.  And  if  there  be  a  truth  that  arises  out 
of  the  non-Christian  religion,  instead  of  being  disturbed  by 
that  shining  truth,  you  thank  God  and  go  forward,  knowing 
this,  that  in  spite  of  it  all  the  great  tragedy  of  it  hangs  like 
a  pall  over  the  non-Christian  world.  You  go,  for  instance, 
into  India  and  China  with  as  large  an  assortment  of  liberal 
views  as  any  man  ought  to  carry  around  the  world  with  him. 
You  go  determined  to  be  generous  to  the  non-Christian' world, 
and  you  receive  with  gratitude  the  courtesies  of  the  elegant 
gentlemen  who  show  you  courtesies.  But  you  come  out  say- 
ing, with  an  emphasis  that  you  never  dreamed  it  would  be 
possible  to  you,  ' c  There  is  no  other  name  given  under  heaven 
or  among  men  whereby  men  must  be  saved  but  the  name  of 
Jesus  Christ,  neither  is  there  salvation  in  any  other." 

So  this  is  Christianity's  message.  We  do  not  offer  a  West- 
ern Christ  to  the  Eastern  world.  We  do  not  offer  an  Eastern 
Christ  to  the  Western  world.  A  universal  Christ,  adequate 
for  the  salvation  of  the  whole  world,  constitutes  our  proclama- 
tion, and  I  venture  to  say  that  one  of  the  imperative  needs 
of  Christendom  in  this  hour  is  a  re-creation  of  full  faith  in 
the  adequacy  of  Jesus  Christ  for  the  world's  salvation. 
There  are  a  good  many  kinds  of  skepticism  in  the  world,  some 
of  them  distressing,  some  of  them  amusing ;  but  the  one  skep- 
ticism that  cuts  the  nerve  of  faith  and  lets  it  die  is  that  skep- 
ticism that  questions  the  necessity  of  Christ  to  the  world 
and  the  adequacy  of  Christ  to  the  world ;  so  we  need  to  stand 
straight  at  this  point.  Gentlemen  of  this  great  Convention, 
in  some  parts  of  the  world  it  is  a  plain,  straight  issue  between 
Jesus  Christ  and  Mohammed.  In  other  parts  of  the  world, 

36 


OPPORTUNITY  AND  TASK. 

a  plain,  straight  issue  between  Jesus  Christ  and  Buddha.  In 
other  parts  of  the  world  a  plain,  straight  issue  between  Jesus 
Christ  and  Confucius.  We  confuse  and  befog  the  whole 
matter  when  we  make  it  a  vague  and  a  general  comparison 
between  one  ism  and  another  ism.  I  will  take  my  stand  in 
New  York  or  Chicago  or  Calcutta  or  Bombay  or  Foochow  or 
Shanghai  or  Pekin  or  Tokio  or  anywhere  in  the  world  beside 
Jesus  Christ,  not  simply  that  He  is  better  than  anybody  else, 
but  that  He  alone  is  adequate  to  world  redemption.  There 
is  no  salvation  apart  from  Him.  « 

Now,  my  second  proposition,  which  I  shall  discuss  with  a 
good  deal  more  brevity,  is  this,  that  this  world  is  lost  and  will 
keep  on  being  lost  unless  we  bring  to  that  world  that  message 
of  Christianity  in  some  fashion  like  unto  the  fashion  in  which 
it  was  brought  to  us.  I  suppose  the  very  finest  thing  in  the 
world  is  humanity  unaided  trying  to  build  its  tower  up  to 
the  heavens.  Humanity  awakens  a  shout  or  a  song.  The 
Christian  message  in  the  beginning  was  conditioned  by  two 
factors:  first,  what  God  in  Jesus  Christ  brought  to  mankind; 
secondly,  what  man  out  of  Christ  needed  from  God.  No  man 
could  go  into  the  Eastern  world  to-day  without  being  tre- 
mendously stirred  with  the  similarity  between  the  conditions 
in  the  Far  East  and  those  conditions  into  which  Jesus  came. 
Now  do  not  misunderstand.  What  God  had  on  one  hand, 
what  man  needed  on  the  other  hand — you  can  begin  either 
way,  but  you  come  out  at  the  same  point.  Dearly  beloved 
brethren,  there  is  a  widespread  error  in  the  world,  a  wide- 
spread and  fatal  error  in  Christendom;  that  error  is  a  two- 
fold one.  First,  that  the  world  without  Christ  is  upon  the 
whole  a  pretty  good  world  without  a  very  good  religion.  Sec- 
ondly, that  the  world  without  Christ  is  a  fairly  happy  world 
without  a  very  adequate  religion.  One  wishes  that  this  were 
true — and  it  is  not.  Many  terms  have  been  used  to  char- 
acterize the  age  and  many  to  characterize  the  race.  The  time 
in  which  we  live  has  been  called  an  age  of  doubt  and  an  age 
of  faith  and  an  age  of  materialism  and  a  skeptical  age  and  a 

37 


MILITANT  METHODISM. 

socialistic  age,  or  a  junction  of  the  two,  by  those  that  want 
to  be  wise  and  strike  a  balance.  And  the  nations  have  been 
characterized  as  the  supple  Hindus  and  sturdy  Chinese  and 
alert  Japanese,  etc.  O,  brethren  beloved,  with  all  these  shift- 
ing, passing  terms  we  are  perfectly  familiar.  But  the  one 
outstanding  fact  with  reference  to  the  ages  and  the  nations 
is  this,  that  the  ages  have  been  ages  of  sin  and  the  nations 
are  nations  of  sin,  and  that  the  pall  of  sin  falls  across  the 
centuries  and  across  all  continents.  It  is,  in  other  words, 
not  simply  the  necessity  of  a  changed  religion  or  of  mis- 
sionary propaganda.  If  it  were  possible  for  us  to  induce 
the  people  of  Africa  to  forsake  Mohammedanism,  to  change 
their  religion  without  changing  their  character,  all  the  great 
struggle  would  be  utterly  useless.  It  is  not  simply  a  changed 
religion,  but  a  changed  life  that  the  world  needs,  in  Christen- 
dom and  out  of  Christendom.  The  world  is  not  being  de- 
stroyed by  its  poverty,  and  the  world  is  not  being  destroyed 
by  its  diseases.  The  heart  of  the  world  is  not  breaking  because 
of  its  poverty,  or  because  of  its  sickness.  The  heart  of  the 
world  is  breaking  for  life.  The  heart  of  the  'world  is  broken 
by  sin.  Shall  I  tell  you,  shall  I  confess  to  you  how  many 
times  I  have  been  asked,  how  many  pitiful  times  I  have  been 
asked,  whether  the  non-Christian  world  is  not  getting  along 
pretty  well  with  the  religions  it  has?  Frugal  men,  economical 
men,  men  with  their  benevolent  emotions  tinder  perfect, 
control,  have  asked  me  over  and  over  again  if  the  non-Ohm- 
tian  world  is  not  getting  along  pretty  well  with  the  religions  it 
has — as  though  Christianity  might  be  a  convenience !  I  make 
this  answer  to-day  as  though  it  were  the  only  word  I  should 
ever  speak  to  you,  as  though  it  might  be  the  last  word  I  should 
speak  to  you.  This  is  my  answer,  "Nobody  on  the  planet  is 
getting  along  pretty  well  without  Jesus  Christ."  Now,  I  am 
not  thinking  chiefly  about  the  escape  of  the  heathen  from  hell 
hereafter.  God  is  good.  I  am  thinking  of  their  escape  from 
the  hell  of  this  life.  And  I  am  praying  that  we  shall  not  eas- 
ily use  these  figures  out  of  which  we  take  the  meaning  and 

38 


OPPORTUNITY  AND  TASK. 

which  we  keep  for  homiletic  purposes  exclusively.  We  have 
a  homiletic  acquaintance  with  water,  a  homfletie  aaqpaiiitance 

with  bread,  ;i  liomilrti.-  ;t.'ijuaint;in<-f  \\-jth  shcfp.  "SVo,  who 
have  never  been  athirst,  who  have  never  been  hungry,  have 
never  been  sheep  without  a  shepherd,  have  a  homiletic  ac- 
quaintance with  these  great  terms.  But  the  non-Christian 
world  is  dying  of  thirst  and  of  hunger,  and  is  scattered  and 
torn  as  sheep  having  no  shepherd  anywhere  within  its  fold. 
Jesus  Christ  to  them  and  to  us  is  something  more  than  a  con- 
venience. As  Porsythe  puts  it,  "We  owe  him  not  riapjy  our 
thanla.  we  owe  Him,  our  lives." 

My  third  proposition  is,  that  we  must  identify  ourselves 
with  Jesus  Christ  for  the  carrying  of  this  necessary  and  ade- 
quate message  to  the  world  that  is  dying  without  it.  We 
must  identify  ourselves  with  Jesus  Christ,  I  said.  More  and 
more,  I  think,  we  are  to  hear  certain  supreme  and  thrilling 
words  in  our  religious  speech.  More  and  more,  I  think,  we 
are  to  hear  such  terms  as  "the  practice  of  the  incarnation " 
and  *  *  the  practice  of  the  atonement.  * '  A  tolerably  interested 
God,  complacent  and  comfortable,  might  have  sent  word  that 
He  had  angels  enough  to  scatter  around  over  the  whole  race 
of  men — to  tell  them  that  He  was  tolerably  interested.  But 
a  divinely  interested  God  had  to  come — I  speak  it  reverently. 
He  could  not  see  the  world  in  sin  and  keep  out  of  it,  and  He 
could  not  see  the  world  in  sorrow  and  keep  out  of  it.  I  would 
not  say  an  irreverent  word,  but  God  could  not  be  the  kind  of 
God  He  is  and  keep  out  of  the  conditions  that  He  saw.  I  do 
not  see  how  an  angel  of  God  can  deliver  the  message  of  God, 
can  fulfill  Christianity's  message,  unless  in  the  spirit  and 
practice  of  the  incarnation  strength  puts  itself  at  the  service 
of  weakness  the  world  around;  light  puts  itself  into  and  at 
the  service  of  the  world's  darkness  the  world  around;  good- 
ness puts  itself  into  the  world's  evil  the  world  around;  until 
all  that  is  high  and  blessed  becomes  all  that  is  earnest  and 
self-sacrificing,  I  do  not  see  how  we  can  keep  out  of  the 
gracious  reconciliation  that  gives  the  Lord  of  life  His  life. 

39 


MILITANT  METHODISM. 

At  Cornell  University  a  young  Dutch  student  from  South 
Africa  came  to  see  me.  He  said,  "I  want  to  talk  with  you, 
sir,  about  the  nations  of  the  earth."  That  is  a  pretty  large 
topic  for  a  young  Dutch  student.  He  said,  "I  am  thinking 
of  a  topic  for  my  graduating  thesis,  and  I  am  preparing  to 
write  a  thesis  upon  the  'Synthesis  of  the  Nations.'  '  That 
recalls  the  old  story  of  the  boy  who  wrote  his  first  essay  and 
wanted  to  take  a  subject  that  would  be  big  enough  so  that 
he  would  not  run  out  of  things  to  say,  and  proposed  as  the 
subject  for  his  first  essay,  "The  World  and  What  It  Con- 
tains. "  "  The  Synthesis  of  the  Nations ! ' '  Well,  we  talked  it 
over,  and  the  boy  left  me.  Brethren,  he  left  me  with  a  word — 
the  nations  may  become  one  or  the  nations  may  remain  sep- 
arate, but  they  will  not  become  one  in  any  body  except  Jesus 
Christ.  The  races  may  become  one,  or  remain  separate,  if 
God's  plans  are  thwarted,  but  the  races  are  not  going  to  be- 
come one  in  any  body  but  Jesus  Christ.  Humanity  may  be 
saved,  saved  in  its  personal  life,  saved  in  its  social  life,  saved 
in  its  political  life,  saved  in  its  industrial  life,  saved  in  its 
international  life ;  or  it  may  go  down  to  doom.  But  it  is  not 
going  to  be  saved,  as  far  as  anybody  can  see,  except  by  Jesus 
Christ. 

This,  then,  is  the  message.  Christianity  has  a  message  so 
unique,  so  necessary  to  mankind,  so  rich  and  fruitful  for  all 
life,  as  to  constitute  it  a  gospel  and  the  only  gospel  for  man- 
kind. The  world  is  lost  and  will  keep  on  being  lost,  unless 
the  world  vitally  gets  this  divine  message.  It  is  our  mission 
in  the  world,  in  the  fashion  in  which  Christ  brought  that 
message  to  us,  to  take  that  message  to  the  world  in  His  name 
and  in  His  spirit. 


40 


Methodism's  Achievements  and  Opportunities. 
JOHN  L.  NUELSEN.     * 

"WHAT  HAS  GOD  WROUGHT!"  From  this  text  John  Wesley 
preached  a  sermon  in  which  he  traces  the  history  and  spread 
of  Methodism.  "What  has  God  wrought!"  we  may  fitly  ex- 
claim when  at  this  juncture  we  pause  to  review  some  of  the 
outstanding  achievements  of  Methodism  since  the  days  of 
Wesley.  We  have  no  desire  to  boast.  Self-glorification  is 
worse  than  useless.  All  honor  and  glory  belongs  to  God.  He 
has  called  Methodism  into  existence.  He  has  given  her  her 
commission.  All  that  the  Methodists  can  do  is  to  be  faithful 
to  the  divine  voice,  to  trust  in  the  divine  power,  to  be  led  by 
the  divine  presence.  Has  Methodism  by  her  history  up  to  the 
present  hour  demonstrated  her  divine  calling?  Has  she  shown 
herself  to  be  a  part  of  that  Church  which  St.  Paul  calls  the 
body  of  Christ  ?  Is  the  function  of  the  body  to  make  real  the 
plans  of  the  head  ?  Has  Christ  used  Methodism  to  carry  out  in 
a  measure  His  world-embracing  plan  of  salvation  ?  It  is  in  this 
spirit  that  I  desire  to  rapidly  sketch  this  survey. 

Under  the  summary  designation  of  achievements  of  or- 
ganization I  may  be  permitted  to  point  to  the  numerical 
growth  of  Methodism.  The  youngest  of  the  great  denomina- 
tions, the  Methodist  Church,  is  now  the  largest  Protestant  de- 
nomination, the  membership  of  which  is  purely  voluntary. 
It  is  true,  the  statistics  would  show  that  the  Lutherans  are 
the  most  numerous  Protestant  Church.  Over  against  the 
thirty-two  millions  of  Methodist  population  are  forty  million 
Lutherans.  But  while  the  great  bulk  of  the  Lutherans  are 
found  in  countries  where  their  Church  is  established  by  law 
and  supported  by  taxes,  there  is  among  all  the  millions  of 

41 


MILITANT  METHODISM. 

Methodists  not  one  who  is  a  Methodist  because  the  laws  of 
the  land  where  he  was  born  made  him  such ;  nor  is  there  any- 
where a  Methodist  Church  the  support  of  which  is  borne  by 
an  appropriation  of  public  funds.  Every  last  Methodist  is  a 
Methodist  because  he  personally  has  chosen  to  be  a  Methodist, 
and  he  knows  that  all  expenses  of  the  organization  have  to  be 
met  by  f  ree-will  offerings.  Considering  that  one  hundred  and 
fifty  years  ago  the  most  brilliant  of  the  leaders  of  thought  on 
the  European  continent  predicted  the  total  extinction  of  the 
Church  of  Christ  within  a  generation,  and  that  again  and 
again  modern  prophets  have  proclaimed  the  impending  end  of 
Christianity,  it  is  a  distinct  achievement  that  there  are  to-day 
thirty-two  millions  of  men,  women,  and  children  who  willingly 
and  thankfully  place  themselves  under  the  influence  of  the 
message  of  life  as  preached  from  Methodist  pulpits. 

In  the  next  place,  the  territorial  expansion  of  Methodism 
may  be  pointed  out  as  an  achievement  worthy  of  notice.  One 
hundred  and  fifty  years  ago  Methodism  was  hardly  known  in 
any  country  outside  of  England;  to-day  there  is  hardly  any 
country  where  Methodism  is  not  known.  This  world-wide  ex- 
pansion derives  its  deeper  significance  from  the  fact  that  Meth- 
odism has  thereby  given  to  the  Protestant  Church  the  world 
view.  There  were  foreign  missionary  efforts  before  the  rise  of 
Methodism.  But  they  were  desultory ;  they  met  with  opposi- 
tion in  the  Churches.  The  Churches  of  the  Reformation  were 
not  missionary  Churches.  It  is  true,  the  Moravians  had  caught 
the  vision  of  the  world-embracing  love  of  the  Savior.  Many 
of  them  went  to  foreign  countries.  Beautiful  examples  they 
are  of  missionary  heroism  and  martyrdom.  But  they  did  not 
succeed  in  arousing  the  Churches  out  of  their  lethargy. 
The  impulse  to  the  modern  missionary  movement  was  given 
by  the  Methodist  revival.  Wesley's  famous  saying,  "The 
world  is  my  parish,"  proved  to  be  the  sledge-hammer  that 
battered  down  the  stone  walls  of  national  narrowness  by  which 
the  Churches  were  hemmed  in.  It  was  Methodism  that  led 
the  Church  of  Christ  out  of  the  valley  of  provincialism  upon 

42 


OPPORTUNITY  AND  TASK. 

the  mountain  heights  where  can  be  seen  the  countries  beyond. 
The  conception  of  Christian  imperialism,  the  vision  of  the 
Kingdom  without  frontiers,  the  compulsion  of  the  Savior's 
love  to  all  mankind,  the  dynamic  of  the  wideness  of  God's 
mercy  like  the  wideness  of  the  sea,  the  longing  for  a  thou- 
sand tongues  to  sing  the  great  Redeemer's  praise — truths  that 
burned  in  the  hearts  of  the  Wesleys  and  Whitefields,  the 
Cokes  and  Asburys,  that  found  expression  in  sermons  and 
songs  and  were  realized  in  the  blessed  experience  of  thousands 
of  men  and  women — these  were  the  forces  that  have  trans- 
formed the  Churches  from  petty  sects,  disputing  about  meta- 
physical distinctions  and  wrangling  about  ecclesiastical  mil- 
linery, into  a  vigorous,  aggressive  army,  eager  for  the  conquest 
of  the  world,  ready  to  plan  great  things,  to  undertake  great 
things,  to  suffer  great  things  in  order  to  crown  Him  their 
great  Captain,  Lord  of  all. 

And  while  Methodism  was  growing  in  numbers  and  ex- 
panding her  world  parish,  she  built  up  an  ecclesiastical  or- 
ganism combining  firmness  w^th  elasticity,  democracy  with 
strong  central  power,  unity  of  aim  and  purpose  with  adapta- 
bility to  local  needs  and  conditions,  allowing  for  the  greatest 
measure  of  individual  liberty  without  running  into  religious 
anarchy ;  providing  for  strong  leadership  without  opening  the 
doors  to  hierarchical  absolutism.  The  dominant  principle  has 
been  tersely  expressed  by  Wesley  in  the  slogan,  "Everybody 
at  work  and  always  at  work."  The  Methodist  Church  is  not 
a  clergy  Church;  it  is  a  people's  Church.  The  aim  of  its 
organization  does  not  look  towards  prelatical  or  hierarchical 
aggrandizement,  nor  towards  the  conservation  of  time-honored 
formularies  or  modes  of  worship.  It  is  the  crowning  achieve- 
ment of  Methodism,  as  far  as  organization  is  concerned, 
that  it  put  into  operation  the  higher  ideal  of  the  Church 
of  Christ,  which  conceives  the  Church,  not  as  a  haven  of 
rest  for  weary  souls,  not  as  merely  a  place  of  preparation 
of  the  soul  for  heavenly  bliss,  not  as  an  ascetic  institution  for 
luring  pious  souls  away  from  the  interests  of  life,  not  as 

43 


MILITANT  METHODISM. 

sacerdotal  pretension  holding  men 's  minds  in  bondage  to  dog- 
matic demands,  but  as  a  great  training  school  for  the  people, 
where  the  men  and  women  who  are  doing  the  world's  work 
and  are  bearing  the  world's  burdens  are  trained  and  inspired 
and  vitalized  and  energized  to  stoop  down  still  lower  and  take 
upon  their  own  shoulders  more  of  the  burden  of  the  weaker 
brother,  to  stretch  out  the  hand  still  farther  and  lift  up  him 
who  has  stumbled  and  fallen.  Thus  the  highest  ideal  of 
Christian  character  may  be  attained,  namely,  perfect  fellow- 
ship of  and  fellowship  with  Him  who  came  not  to  be  minis- 
tered unto  but  to  minister,  yea,  to  give  His  life  for  the  salva- 
tion of  others. 

Turning  now  from  the  achievements  of  organization  to  the 
impact  upon  the  Church  at  large  of  the  message  of  Methodism, 
I  shall,  of  course,  not  attempt  to  speak  of  the  message  itself. 
This  has  been  done  so  beautifully  by  Bishop  McDowell.  I 
merely  desire  to  remind  you  that  Methodism  has  ever  been 
more  than  an  organization;  it  has  been  and  is  now  a  great 
spiritual  movement  making  itself  felt  far  beyond  the  confines 
of  its  own  household.  The  Methodists  themselves  have  ever 
been  the  least  result  of  the  Methodist  movement.  The  direct 
results  are  vastly  outnumbered  by  the  indirect  results.  It 
requires  a  tremendous  vitality  to  remain  both  an  organiza- 
tion and  a  movement.  Great  movements  have  lost  their  vital 
impulse  when  crystallized  into  organized  forms ;  great  organi- 
zations have  weakened  and  have  disintegrated  in  the  endeavor 
to  exert  wider  influence.  The  Methodist  message  has  retained 
and  strengthened  its  constructive  power  while  not  diminishing 
its  dynamic  force.  It  has  quickened  the  spiritual  life  of 
all  Churches.  By  its  insistence  upon  the  great  funda- 
mental facts  of  Christian  experience  it  has  changed  the 
character  of  Protestant  preaching.  Its  jubilant  proclama- 
tion of  a  salvation  that  is  free  to  all  and  possible  for 
all,  a  salvation  that  can  be  known  and  felt,  that  strangely 
warms  the  heart  and  tunes  the  life  to  joyous  praise,  a  salvation 
that  reaches  the  innermost  recesses  of  the  soul  and  touches  all 

44 


OPPORTUNITY  AND  TASK. 

the  issues  of  life,  a  salvation  that  can  be  interpreted  and  lived 
in  terms  of  holiness  and  perfect  love — this  proclamation  has 
been  like  the  warm  spring  sunshine,  melting  the  icy  crusts 
of  lifeless  formalism  and  fruitless  dogmatism  which  enshrined 
the  Churches  and  bringing  forth  the  sweet  flowers  and  fruits 
of  the  life  .of  the  Spirit. 

Methodism  has  been  to  all  Protestant  Churches  the  teacher 
of  aggressive  evangelism.  The  evangelistic  note  in  modern 
preaching  is  the  echo  of  the  Methodist  revival  shouts.  Nearly 
a  gefleration  ago  a  German  Lutheran  university  professor  said 
that  the  great  dominant  force  in  modern  Protestantism  is  the 
spirit  of  Methodism,  and  only  about  a  year  ago  a  French 
Romanist  summed  up  his  observation  on  the  Church  of  the 
future  by  voicing  his  expectation  that  in  its  characteristic 
features  and  its  spirit  tte  Church  of  the  future  will  be  Meth- 
odistic.  To  record  these  statements,  coming  as  they  do  from 
representatives  of  the  Catholic  and  the  Lutheran  Churches, 
may  suffice  to  show  Methodism's  achievement  in  impressing 
her  message  upon  the  Church  universal. 

Any  religious*  movement  or  organization  is  to  be  judged 
also  by  its  influence  upon  the  community  and  the  nation.  Re- 
ligion is  not  a  department  of  life  isolated  from  the  other 
interests.  It  is  not  a  peaceful  island  in  the  turbulent  river, 
but  a  force  giving  direction  to  the  currents  of  life.  From 
its  very  beginning  Methodism  was  closely  connected  with 
the  great  national  and  world  movements.  They  shaped  to 
a  great  extent  the  outward  course  of  Methodist  history,  and 
by  directing  its  message  to  the  needs  of  the  hour,  Meth- 
odism became  a  determining  factor  in  influencing  and  mold- 
ing the  National  and  social  life  of  the  times.  This  is  true 
in  England.  It  is  likewise  the  case  in  America.  The  first 
Episcopal  Church  in  the  new  American  Republic,  the  first 
Church  to  officially  recognize  the  new  Federal  Constitution 
and  the  Chief  Magistrate,  George  Washington,  its  history 
parallels  the  history  of  the  Union.  The  great  problems  of 
the  Nation  have  been  the  problems  with  which  Methodism 

45 


MILITANT  METHODISM. 

undertook  to  wrestle.  Take,  for  instance,  the  problem  of 
population  in  its  threefold  form  as  a  problem  of  territorial 
expansion,  of  immigration,  of  races.  It  has  confronted  the 
Nation  with  the  gravest  tasks,  and  never  was  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church  found  shrinking  from  its  duties  and  re- 
sponsibilities. 

The  task  of  building  the  greater  American  Nation  in 
that  fertile  area  between  the  Alleghenies  and  the  Rockies, 
and  later  beyond  the  Rockies,  was  stupendous,  both  on  account 
of  the  vastness  of  the  territory  and  of  the  mighty  inrush  of 
population.  The  greatest  empire  in  all  history — Rome,  with 
her  population  of  one  hundred  and  twenty  millions,  her  genius 
for  government,  her  long  and  compact  civilization — perished 
utterly  under  the  pressure  of  a  less  copious  flood  of  incursion 
than  rushed  into  the  young  American  Republic  with  its  scanty 
population  and  its  new  and  untried  institutions.  Rome  de- 
clined and  fell,  not  by  force  of  arms,  but  by  the  disintegrating 
influences  exerted  by  the  masses  of  foreigners  who  were  made 
Roman  citizens  without  becoming  true  Romans,  and  this  was 
and  is  the  danger  of  America.  Even  under  the  most  favorable 
conditions,  emigrations  on  a  large  scale  are  fraught  with 
dangers.  Torn  away  from  his  accustomed  surroundings,  no 
longer  hemmed  in  by  the  restraints  of  Church  or  Society, 
engaged  in  a  fierce  struggle  against  poverty  and  deprivations, 
the  immigrant  must  be  backed  by  a  tremendous  moral  or  re- 
ligious motive  if  he  is  not  to  fall  off  from  the  standards  of  a 
civilized  community.  While  the  organization  of  the  American 
Churches  was  well  adapted  to  the  normal  conditions  in  a 
settled  country,  it  was  utterly  inadequate  to  the  needs  of  the 
hour.  No  other  system  than  that  represented  by  the  Meth- 
odist circuit-rider,  the  Methodist  class-meeting,  could  save  the 
West.  And  as  the  AVestward  movement  rushed  on  till  it 
reached  the  breakers  of  the  Pacific  Ocean,  the  Methodist 
circuit-rider  was  ever  in  the  van  of  the  unending  procession, 
building  into  the  foundations  of  the  coining  Commonwealths 

46 


OPPORTUNITY  AND  TASK. 

the  solid,  precious  marble  blocks  of  faith  in  God.  of  moral 
responsibility,  of  self-respect,  of  altruistic  service. 

Need  I  speak  of  Methodist  service  in  helping  to  solve  our 
problems  of  immigration?  When  towards  the  middle  of 
the  last  century  the  old  homeland  of  the  Angles  and  the 
Saxons  began  to  send  her  sons  and  daughters  by  the  tens 
of  thousands,  and  when  from  Scandinavia  the  blue-eyed, 
flaxen-haired  children  of  the  Vikings  and  Norsemen  came  to 
people  the  newly-formed  Western  States,  Methodists  wel- 
comed them  with  the  gospel  message  in  their  own  tongues. 
And  in  our  day,  when  the  doors  are  wide  open,  and  when 
from  all  parts  of  the  world  the  immigrants  pour  into  this 
country  at  the  rate  of  over  one  million  a  year,  the  Methodist 
Church  can  point  to  mission  halls  and  chapels  and  churches 
and  schoolhouses  where  in  many  languages  the  gospel  of 
Christian  principles,  of  American  civilization,  are  promul- 
gated. The  achievements  of  Methodist  home  mission  work  in 
foreign  languages  take  a  high  place  when  we  enumerate  the 
forces  that  make  for  the  Americanization  of  the  heterogeneous 
elements  and  for  the  unification  of  the  Nation. 

Shall  I  speak  of  Methodism's  achievement  in  helping  to 
solve  our  perplexed  race  problem  ?  The  noble  words  uttered 
by  President  Lincoln,  well  nigh  fifty  years  ago,  still  ring  in 
the  ears  of  Methodists.  May  I  quote  them  ?  ' '  Nobly  sustained 
as  this  Government  has  been  by  all  the  Churches,  I  would 
utter  nothing  which  might  in  the  least  appear  invidious 
against  any.  Yet  without  this  it  may  fairly  be  said  that  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  not  less  devoted  than  the 
best,  is,  by  its  greater  number,  the  most  important  of  all. 
It  is  no  fault  in  others  that  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church  sends  more  soldiers  to  the  field,  more  nurses  to 
the  hospitals,  and  more  prayers  to  Heaven  than  any." 
I  am  not  going  to  give  you  any  statistics  as  to  our  work 
among  our  colored  people  nor  among  those  of  foreign  speech. 
I  shall  not  tell  you  how  much  money  we  have  invested  in 

47 


MILITANT  METHODISM. 

our  hospitals,  orphanages,  old  people's  homes,  deaconess 
institutions,  and  other  forms  of  mercy  and  help  work.  I 
shall  not  speak  of  our  colleges  and  universities;  all  these 
details  will  be  presented  to  you  by  the  speakers  who  will 
follow.  But  this  one  thought  I  am  desirous  of  impressing 
upon  your  minds:  wherever  you  touch  American  life  to-day, 
you  will  find  the  Methodist  influence.  You  speak  of  the  nation- 
wide fight  against  the  drink  evil!  Need  I  tell  you  that  the 
Methodist  Church  is  leading  the  hosts?  You  are  thinking 
of  the  great  social  struggle,  so  complex  and  comprehensive. 
Let  me  point  you  to  the  fact  that  the  declaration  of  the 
General  Conference  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  on 
the  relation  of  the  Church  to  the  social  problems  have  been 
adopted  almost  literatim  by  the  Federated  Churches  of 
America.  All  Americans  love  to  think  of  the  spread  of  edu- 
cation and  culture  among  the  broad  masses  of  the  people. 
While  in  no  wise  detracting  from  the  splendid  work  done  in 
our  public  schools — and,  by  the  way,  the  Methodists  stand 
by  the  public  school  system — I  remember  reading  in  the 
foremost  French  Review  that  the  American  Chautauqua 
system  presents  the  greatest  system  of  popular  education 
that  the  world  has  ever  seen,  and  I  further  remember  that 
the  Chautauqua  system  was  founded  by  a  bishop  of  the  Meth- 
odist Episcopal  Church. 

Men  of  Methodism,  lift  up  your  eyes  and  behold  what 
God  has  wrought.  It  is  marvelous.  Truly  a  great  heritage 
the  fathers  have  left  to  us.  It  does  not  behoove  us  to  boast. 
We  did  not  make  Methodism.  It  behooves  us  to  bow  our 
heads  in  gratitude  for  what  God  has  wrought  through  our 
fathers;  but  more  than  that,  to  lift  up  hearts  and  heads 
in  exceedingly  great  thankfulness  that  He  has  given  to  us 
still  larger  opportunities  than  our  fathers  ever  dreamt  of. 
Larger  opportunities?  Yea,  verily. 

A  larger  opportunity  I  see  in  the  modern  quest  of 
the  soul,  in  the  desire  for  individual  life.  Our  age  is  no 
longer  satisfied  with  blatant  materialism,  nor  with  perverted 

48 


OPPORTUNITY  AND  TASK. 

socialism.  In  the  terrific  rush  of  modern  life,  amid  the  tre- 
mendous strain  of  business  pressure,  in  the  wild  dash  for  the 
dollar,  the  insatiate  hunger  for  pleasure  in  the  restlessness 
of  the  age,  there  is  seen  the  wistful  longing  for  a  soul  life, 
for  strong,  independent  personal  life.  In  art  and  literature 
and  philosophy  can  be  discerned  the  plea  for  recognition 
of  the  soul,  the  insistence  upon  a  life  higher  than  and  inde- 
pendent of  the  physical  life,  a  life  independent  of  its  material 
surroundings,  stronger  than  its  environment,  a  life  that  is 
not  the  result  of  evolution  but  of  regeneration.  I  am  here 
to  say  to  you  that  the  men  and  women  of  our  day,  the 
world  over,  in  spite  of  apparent  materialism,  have  a  greater 
longing  for  a  higher  life  than  the  people  had  when  Meth- 
odism was  called  into  being.  And  furthermore,  modern  scien- 
tific thought  has  a  greater  appreciation  of  the  facts  of  reli- 
gious experience,  especially  of  the  fact  of  regeneration,  than 
philosophy  ever  had.  I  am  not  disturbed  by  the  mass  of  in- 
cidental things  that  appear  on  the  surface.  Go  down  to  the 
hidden  currents  that  determine  the  direction  of  the  river,  and 
doing  so,  I  would  say  our  age  is  an  age  of  the  quest  of  the  soul. 
If  there  ever  was  a  time  when  the  distinctive  message  of 
Methodist  theology  met  the  needs  of  the  hour,  the  time  is 
now.  The  message  of  the  soul  life  attained  through  the 
new  birth  by  the  power  of  the  Spirit  of  God,  who  makes 
old  things  pass  away  and  makes  everything  new,  is  distinc- 
tively the  message  of  the  hour.  God  help  us  faithfully  to 
preach  it,  loyally  to  live  it !  To  save  souls  may  have  a  some- 
what different  meaning  for  us  than  it  had  for  our  fathers; 
our  opportunities  for  saving  souls  are  vastly  greater. 

I  see  a  larger  opportunity  in  the  present  emphasis  upon 
social  service.  Let  us  not  be  misled  by  the  apparent  selfish- 
ness,  greed,  injustice,  corruption,  and  graft.  All  of  these  evils 
and  many  more  are  obvious.  But,  again,  we  discern  in  modern 
society  not  only  a  vague,  inarticulate  desire  for  social  better- 
ment, for  service,  but  a  real  passion  for  it.  It  is  within  the 
Church,  it  is  outside  the  Church,  it  is  even  in  many  instances 
4  49 


MILITANT  METHODISM. 

hostile  to  the  Church,  but  its  presence  is  one  of  the  most  sig- 
nificant and  hopeful  signs  of  the  times.  Methodism 's  summons 
to  social  service  was  uttered  clearly  and  compellingly  at  the 
beginning  of  its  history.  In  our  age  of  social  reconstruction, 
of  great  impending  changes,  of  unrest,  of  yearning  for  social 
justice ;  in  our  day  when  we  begin  to  estimate  a  man 's  success 
in  accordance  with  his  service  to  the  community ;  in  our  times 
when  we  begin  to  learn  that  privilege  spells  obligation  and 
that  obligation  is  a  synonym  of  service, — Methodism  has  the 
larger  opportunity  to  connect  the  currents  of  humanitarianism 
with  the  life-springs  of  vital  religion.  Socialism,  estranged 
from  religion  or  hostile  to  religion,  will  never  lift  society. 
The  passion  for  social  service  will  burn  out  and  die  unless 
it  is  constantly  quickened  and  energized  by  the  love  of 
Christ  that  constraineth  us  also.  The  history  of  Methodism, 
her  genius  and  achievements,  are  a  challenge  to  us  to  furnish 
the  larger  world  of  to-day  with  social  leadership  that  leads 
from  the  reborn  individual  to  the  reconstructed  society. 

The  larger  world  furnishes  to  Methodists  the  larger 
opportunities.  Wesley's  word,  "The  world  is  my  parish," 
means  vastly  more  to  us  than  it  could  possibly  mean  to  him. 
To-day  we  can,  yea,  we  must,  speak. of  world  influence,  of 
world  power,  of  world  obligation.  What  is  done  in  one  coun- 
try affects  life  in  every  other  country.  Especially  is  this  true 
of  America.  America,  the  threshhold  between  the  two  large 
oceans  around  which  modern  life  pulsates ;  America,  with  her 
immense  material  resources;  America,  with  her  mixed  popu- 
lation, from  which  you  can  trace  lines  of  influence  to  nearly 
every  hamlet  in  every  country  of  the  world, — America  has  to- 
day opportunities  for  world  influence  as  no  other  country  ever 
possessed.  Men  of  Methodism,  the  Methodist  Church  is  the 
strongest  Protestant  Church  in  America.  Draw  your  own  con- 
clusions. Get  the  vision.  Hear  the  summons.  Face  the  larger 
opportunities. 


50 


PART  II. 

The  Forces  and  the  Field— A  Survey. 


bf  ISisljop 

OGoo,  our  Father,  we  have  been  sitting  together  thinking  of  Thee  and 
Thy  Kingdom,  and  Thou  hast  been  with  us.  We  have  been  thinking  of 
the  King,  and  our  King  has  been  in  our  midst,  and  our  hearts  burned 
within  us  as  our  faith  discerns  Thee,  and  the  sense  of  responsibility  comes  upon 
us  as  we  look  upon  the  scarred  face  of  our  King,  and  as  His  pierced  hands 
beckon  us  to  the  opportunity  of  to-day  and  point  to  us  the  way  of  service.  Our 
loving  hearts  would  answer  to  Him  and  we  would  give  ourselves  as  never  before 
in  sacrifice  and  in  service  in  the  name  of  Him  who  loved  us.  O,  Master  Divine, 
Thou  who  hast,  by  the  sober  words  of  this  convention,  shown  us  the  possi- 
bilities; Thou  who  hast  breathed  upon  us  Thy  Spirit,  so  that  our  love  for  Thee 
has  been  quickened;  O,  Master  Divine,  save  us!  so  that  we  shall  not  leave 
here  the  influence  of  this  Convention;  that  we  shall  not  turn  and  go  down 
again  to  those  low  levels  where  we  have  lived;  that  we  shall  not  henceforth  be 
satisfied  with  narrow  thoughts  concerning  Thy  great  grace;  that  we  shall  not 
willingly  interpret  the  Divine  purpose  in  terms  of  our  own  personality.  O, 
Master  Divine,  help  us  that  we  may  save  Thy  world,  the  world  for  whose  re- 
demption Jesus  Christ  died,  the  world  that  Thou  hast  sought  to  place  upon 
the  heart  of  Thy  militant  Church.  O  help  us,  that  our  eyes  may  never  fail  to 
recognize  the  measure  of  Thy  love;  that  our  hearts  may  never  fail  to  answer 
to  Thy  call,  but  that  Thou  mayest  by  Thy  Spirit  put  Thine  own  life  into  our 
hearts  and  lead  us  ever  henceforth.  O,  Master  Divine,  here  we  are,  a  little 
company  of  Thy  workers,  a  little  group  of  Thy  disciples,  but  the  land  is  here, 
the  world  is  here,  and  millions  of  Methodists  are  here!  They  are  to  be  influenced 
by  this  great  Convention.  They  will  either  tarry  where  they  are  upon  the 
lower  reaches  of  life  or  they  shall  rise  and  see  the  vision  that  Thou  art  seeking 
to  set  before  them.  We  are  going  down  again,  or  we  are  to  rise.  Master,  come 
and  help  us  to  rise! 

There  is  a  vision  of  the  home  life,  and  we  are  face  to  face  with  the  great 
question  of  our  sons  and  daughters — some  of  them  in  Thy  Kingdom,  but 
some  of  them  wandering  afar.  O  breathe  on  us,  Master,  that  in  wisdom  and 
in  love  it  shall  be  at  once  our  high  responsibility  and  our  exalted  privilege  to 
bring  the  sons  and  the  daughters  of  Methodist  homes  into  the  family  of  our 
God.  The  cities  are  wailing,  they  are  wailing  in  their  ignorance;  they  are 
sobbing  in  their  wretchedness;  they  are  wandering  on  in  their  sin,  down  from 
darkness  into  a  deeper  darkness;  O,  Master  Divine,  quicken  us  in  all  the 
energies  of  our  spiritual  life,  breathe  on  us  by  Thy  Spirit,  so  that  the  Church 
of  Jesus  Christ  may  lay  hold  on  the  great  cities  of  America,  may  lay  hold  upon 
the  country  places  of  America,  may  recognize  in  America  God's  great  re- 
demptive purpose,  and  may  devote  itself  utterly  to  that  purpose.  O,  Master 
Divine,  a  world-crisis  is  before  us.  Africa  cries  unto  us;  China  reaches  out  its 
hands  imploring  to  us;  India  and  Japan  are  asking  our  aid;  Mexico,  in  con- 
fusion and  in  turmoil,  utters  its  imploring  cries.  O,  Master  Divine,  where 
shall  be  the  sufficiency  that  shall  satisfy  these  hungry  multitudes?  Where  is 
the  light  that  is  to  illuminate  these  darkened  lands?  Thou  must  be  the  bread 
for  the  satisfying  of  the  world's  hunger,  and  Thou  must  be  the  Light  of  the 
world.  O  may  Thy  Church,  represented  here,  receive  the  bread  from  heaven 
and  distribute  it  to  the  hungry  of  the  world.  O,  Light  of  Life,  shine  in  upon 

52 


THE  FORCES  AND  THE  FIELD—A  SURVEY. 

our  hearts,  that  so  our  quickened  faith,  pur  life  intensified  shall  enable  us  to 
go  out  and  strive  and  pray  and  serve,  until  the  shadow  shall  lift  from  all  lands, 
and  until  the  world  shall  be  lifted  up  into  the  light  and  the  love  and  the  life  of 
God!  Hear  us  in  this  prayer!  We  are  not  sufficient  in  ourselves,  but  Thou 
hast  taught  us  to  believe  that  the  things  that  are  not  may  bring  to  naught 
the  things  that  are,  if  only  there  be  the  dedication  of  purpose  and  of  profession 
to  Thee,  and  here  this  morning  we  would  pledge  ourselves  to  our  King;  our 
sacrifice  we  would  place  on  the  altar  until  the  great  task  be  wrought,  or  until 
Thou  shall  call  us  from  the  field  to  the  City  of  the  King.  Amen. 


The  Forces  and  the  Field — A  Survey. 

WISDOM  calls  for  a  careful  study  of  every  task  and.  a  con- 
sideration of  the  resources  available  for  service.  When  it 
comes  to  the  work  of  the  Church,  this  is  even  more  neces- 
sary, for  the  Church  membership  is  vastly  different  in  range 
of  opportunity  and  ability.  Her  leadership  also  is  so  varied 
that  no  one  viewpoint  gives  the  entire  problem  or  its  solution. 
The  helpful  feature  in  these  discussions  is  that  it  is  possible 
to  compare  the  many  .viewpoints,  so  that  secretaries,  editors, 
district  superintendents,  pastors,  bishops,  and  laymen  may 
see  their  own  estimates  and  solutions  side  by  side  with  those 
of  men  who  reach  their  conclusions  from  a  different  angle. 
A  survey  of  the  condition  of  the  Church,  revealing  the 
variety  of  its  departments  and  activities,  proposing  remedies, 
and  showing  how  a  proposed  remedy  has  worked  in  a  given 
situation,  will  provide  material  against  which  may  be  pro- 
jected with  profit  both  the  experience  and  the  theories  of  men 
from  widely  separated  fields  of  toil. 

The  story  of  how  other  denominations  have  faced  their 
situations  and  solved  or  partly  solved  their  problems  fur- 
nishes still  more  data  for  comparative  study. 

Into  every  Episcopal  Area  Conference  and  into  the  Sec- 
tional Conferences  held  for  District  Superintendents,  Pas- 
tors, Brotherhood  Men,  and  Sunday  School  Superintendents, 
this  material  was  taken  to  see  if  it  would  fit  the  field  and 
could  be  actually  applied  to  the  particular  local  needs. 

The  special  purpose  of  this  section  of  MILITANT  METH- 
ODISM is  to  give  a  comprehensive  survey  of  the  field,  the 
forces,  and  the  problems,  and  to  show  how  the  forces  have 
been  mobilized  and  used  and  the  problems  met  in  various 
parts  of  the  wide  territory  under  our  care. 

53 


I.  OUR  DENOMINATIONAL  SITUATION. 


The  addresses  at  this  session  were  illustrated  by  many  maps  and  charts 
specially  prepared  for  the  Convention.  It  was  found  impracticable  to  repro- 
duce these  maps  in  this  volume. — EDS. 


The  Drift  of  the  Church.- 

W.  B.   HOLLINGSHEAD. 

I  REALIZE  that  I  must  hasten  the  message  of  the  morning.  My 
first  question  is,  "Why  this  map  ?  First,  that  it  may  portray  to 
the  eye  in  colors  the  places  where  our  bishops  reside  and  the 
fields  over  which  they  preside.  Second,  that  the  per  capita 
standing  as  to  the  ministry  and  the  benevolent  enterprises  of 
the  Church  may  be  set  before  your  eye  that  you  may  see  the 
whole  field  at  a  glance.  Third,  that  we  may  by  graphic 
illustration  try  to  portray  to  you  something  of  the  distance 
and  the  measurements,  the  miles  over  which  these  chief  leaders 
and  general  superintendents  of  ours  must  preside  in  order 
to  do  the  work  of  the  Church  of  God.  May  we  ask,  Did  the 
General  Conference  make  a  mistake  in  creating  new  epis- 
copal fields?  Did  it  impose  upon  the  Church  a  finan- 
cial burden  which  it  is  unable  to  pay  for  its  leadership? 
Have  our  bishops  not  sufficient  territory  over  which  to 
travel  or  sufficient  interests  to  develop?  Then,  to  be  brief 
with  this  statement,  I  desire  to  illustrate  first  one  area  in  the 
Church.  You  will  note  the  field  to  the  northwest  and  the 
west  in  the  green  on  the  map,  the  field  over  which  one  bishop 
presides,  and  take  its  development.  It  would  reach  from  New 
York  City  to  New  Orleans  if  we  could  change  the  form  of 
it.  I  have  not  told  its  magnitude  in  miles  from  east  to  west. 
Did  the  General  Conference  give  to  Bishop  Luccock  a  full 

54 


THE  FORCES  AND  THE  FIELD— A  SURVEY. 

man's  job?  This  is  a  new  area;  some  of  you  have  traveled 
it  from  east  to  west,  and  when  the  fast  express  starts  from 
the  East  toward  Bishop  Luccock's  field  and  travels  to  the 
West,  you  are  traveling  some,  to  use  a  common  expression. 
I  sat  a  few  weeks  ago  in  the  station  at  Denver.  I  had  an 
hour  and  a  quarter  to  spare.  A  man  with  a  familiar  face 
entered  the  door.  I  greeted  him,  and  he  called  me  by  name. 
We  sat  down  and  for  more  than  an  hour  we  talked  together. 
It  was  Bishop  Luccock,  who  led  our  devotions  this  morning. 
He  began  to  tell  me  about  Montana  and  Idaho  and  the  Da- 
kotas,  and  his  very  soul  was  on  fire  with  enthusiasm  for  the 
bigness  of  his  job  and  for  the  opportunities  which  the  Church 
had  put  into  his  hands,  and  when  he  went  on  with  his  earnest 
story,  I  said  to  him,  "But,  bishop,  who  is  to  tell  your  story 
to  the  great  East?"  And  then,  as  he  hastened  in  graphic 
terms  to  portray  conditions  which  made  my  heart's  blood 
thrill  within  me,  I  said  again,  "Who  is  to  tell  your  story  to 
the  great  East?"  And  as  he  went  on  with  that  earnest  en- 
thusiasm, telling  me  of  opportunities  too  great  for  the  aver- 
age man  to  comprehend,  I  said  again,  "But  who  is  to  tell 
your  story  to  the  great  East?"  I  have  not  yet  received  an 
answer  to  my  question.  Men  of  Methodism,  if  some  man 
could  stand  before  our  people  in  this  American  land  and  tell 
them  what  is  transpiring  on  this  American  continent,  and  the 
opportunities  Almighty  God  has  opened  to  our  Church,  there 
would  be  such  an  awakening  in  benevolent  activities  as  the 
world  has  never  known.  But  who  can  tell  it?  When  you 
see  it  you  can  not  comprehend  it.  I  used  to  travel  over  the 
district  out  yonder  in  the  northwest  corner  of  the  State  of 
Oregon.  I  came  in  every  quarter  and  said,  "It  is  all  new, 
opportunities  everywhere,  a  field  white  unto  the  harvest." 
If  I  should  stand  here  this  morning  and  try  to  portray  to  you 
conditions  in  our  great  cities  and  rural  districts,  every  man 
would  go  back  to  his  field  with  a  deeper  interest  in  the  ex- 
tension of  the  Kingdom  of  God.  Men  of  Methodism,  our  peo- 
ple lack  conscience  concerning  the  great  connectional  claims 

55 


MILITANT  METHODISM. 

of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church.  Our  people  lack  vision 
of  world  problems.  They  have  not  gone  down  into  the  heart 
of  the  great  city  to  develop  or  understand  the  conditions  of 
city  life.  They  know  but  little  about  the  great  frontier  in  that 
Western  land.  They  know  but  little  about  conditions  across 
the  sea  or  in  the  islands  of  the  sea.  And  this  great  Church  of 
ours  is  doing  comparatively  little  in  the  great  work  of  extend- 
ing the  Kingdom  of  God  throughout  the  world.  You  chal- 
lenge the  statement,  and  you  tell  me  the  Church  is  doing  great 
things.  We  have  not  yet  touched  our  opportunity.  We  have 
not  touched  the  hem  of  the  garment.  We  have  not  yet  caught 
a  glimpse  of  the  world's  needs.  If  we  had  we  would  measure 
up  to  our  standards,  we  would  not  offer  to  God  the  meager 
sums  we  are  now  offering ;  we  would  not  offer  a  man  here,  and 
another  there,  and  another  yonder. 

The  question  of  leadership  is  vital  to  the  benevolent  prob- 
lem. Some  of  our  bishops  have  too  much  work  to  handle. 
Any  man  acquainted  with  the  records  knows  that  no  man 
can  work  things  out  successfully  when  he  has  too  great  a 
task.  There  are  distances  which  no  man  can  travel  and 
do  efficient  work  as  a  leader.  The  question  of  leadership 
is  the  question  which  has  to  do  primarily  with  the  ques- 
tion of  developing  a  benevolent  spirit  in  the  Church  of  God. 
If  we  are  short  here,  we  fail.  My  business  is  to  deal  with 
the  records  of  the  Church.  In  order  to  do  the  work  to  which 
we  are  assigned  we  must  work  out  some  system.  Every 
Church  in  Methodism  stands  upon  the  records.  It  is  a  record 
for  last  year  and  the  year  before  and  the  year  before  that,  as 
to  its  membership,  its  property,  its  ministerial  support,  its 
benevolent  collection,  and  every  Church  that  is  running  down, 
the  story  is  told.  Every  Church  that  is  making  good,  the 
story  is  told.  And  who  makes  that  down-hill  record?  It  is 
the  same  man.  Who  makes  that  up-hill  record?  It  is  the 
same  man;  wherever  you  send  him,  he  uplifts  it;  wherever 
you  send  the  other  man,  he  drags  it  down.  And  this  whole 
business  of  taking  care  of  the  benevolent  interests  of  the  whole 

56 


THE  FORCES  AND  THE  FIELD— A  SURVEY. 

Church  depends  primarily  upon  leadership.  If  our  men  will 
put  themselves  to  the  business  of  the  Church  in  a  business- 
like manner  to  take  care  of  the  needs  of  God's  Kingdom  as 
expressed  in  the  great  connectional  Boards,  and  if  they  have 
the  right  leadership,  we  can  reverse  the  figures  in  a  single 
year.  Personal  sacrifice  has  something  to  do  with  it,  but  do 
you  mean  to  tell  me  that  there  is  any  degree  of  personal 
sacrifice  represented  in  our  Church  when  the  average  annual 
contribution  from  the  Church  for  the  eight  great  connectional 
Boards  is  fifty-three  cents  per  capita  ?  Can  you  preach  sacri- 
fice in  the  face  of  that  record?  In  the  Sunday  schools  we 
have  twenty-three  cents,  making  seventy-six  cents  in  all ;  that 
is  the  total  per  capita  from  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church 
in  the  United  States  for  the  extension  of  God's  Kingdom  at 
home  and  abroad.  Who  can  stand  before  a  congregation  and 
say  that  our  people  are  a  sacrificing  people?  We  have  lost 
the  spirit  of  sacrifice  in  regard  to  world  movements. 

Now,  turning  to  this  big  map ;  there  is  a  black  block  there ; 
there  is  a  red  line  at  the  top  of  53,  which  is  the  per  capita 
contribution  from  the  Church;  there  is  a  second  red  line  at 
the  top  of  23,  which  is  the  per  capita  contribution  from  the 
Sunday  school;  if  the  area  falls  short,  there  is  a  white  spot 
indicating  that  the  per  capita  offerings  from  that  area  were 
not  equal  to  the  average  from  the  Church.  You  will  observe 
under  the  point  of  this  rod,  which  I  am  using  to  point  out 
things  that  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  must  know  if 
she  is  to  save  the  world.  All  this  territory  (pointing  to  large 
sections  of  the  United  States)  falls  short  of  the  Church's 
average.  Where  civilization  is  settled — between  Philadelphia, 
Baltimore,  and  Chicago — over  one  million  three  hundred 
thousand  Methodists  reside;  and  yet,  in  this  section  each  of 
the  Episcopal  Areas  shows  a  white  space  in  each  of  the  black 
blocks  upon  this  map.  In  that  great  Western  country  you 
will  notice  that  the  black  block  in  that  San  Francisco  area 
stands  fourteen  and  a  half  inches  high.  On  this  great  Amer- 
ican continent  of  ours  no  section  shows  that  record  for  our 

57 


MILITANT  METHODISM. 

eight  great  Boards  except  in  the  San  Francisco  area,  and  why  ? 
Not  because  they  are  richer  than  other  places.  I  have  traveled 
in  every  State  and  Territory  of  the  United  States  from  my 
boyhood  to  this  day ;  I  have  gone  over  this  continent,  up  and 
down,  with  my  eyes  open,  and  it  is  not  because  they  are  richer. 
There  is  not  to  be  found  on  this  American  continent  a  single 
area  where  the  idea  of  the  Scriptural  tithe  has  been  so  per- 
sistently and  so  carefully  taught  as  in  that  San  Francisco 
area.  I  say  in  plain  words  that  the  Church  of  God  has  drifted 
away  from  her  obligation  of  the  tithe  for  the  extension  of  the 
Kingdom  of  God,  and  until  she  comes  back  to  it  or  comes 
back  to  more  than  the  tithe,  she  can  not  take  this  world  for  our 
God. 

The  red  figures  represent  the  average  of  ministerial  sup- 
port. Perhaps  after  this  service  is  over  you  can  look  over  the 
red  figures  and  the  black  and  make  some  study  of  them. 

We  are  asleep  on  our  job  when  it  comes  to  the  business  of 
saving  this  sin-cursed  world;  we  are  alseep  on  our  job  when 
it  comes  to  the  business  of  redeeming  America.  Pardon  the 
homely  language,  but  you  will  understand  it  better;  we  are 
asleep  on  our  job  when  it  comes  to  discharging  our  responsi- 
bility to  the  various  benevolent  Boards  of  the  Church.  We 
are  not  doing  for  the  extension  of  God 's  Kingdom  that  which 
is  right  in  these  days  of  financial  prosperity. 

Why  the  wheel?  I  can  not  explain  it  at  length.  Twelve 
dollars  and  four  cents  is  the  amount  every  member  con- 
tributed for  all  our  Church  purposes  in  the  year  1912; 
$5.32  of  that  $12.04  goes  to  ministerial  support;  $3.36  is 
spent  in  property  matters,  repairs,  church  buildings,  payment 
of  debts — mainly  spent  in  increasing  values.  Two  dollars 
and  twenty-one  cents  is  spent  for  current  expenses — electric 
light,  janitor,  fuel,  etc.  Brethren  of  Methodism,  that  figure 
represents  more  than  seven  million  dollars  in  a  single  year; 
but  I  must  not  tarry.  The  Church  benevolent  offering,  the 
average  in  the  Church  represents  fifty-three  cents.  The  aver- 
age from  the  Sunday  school,  twenty-three  cents.  The  average 

58 


THE  FORCES  AND  THE  FIELD— A  SURVEY. 

from  the  woman's  missionary  societies,  thirty-nine  cents.  Add 
your  five  dollars  and  thirty-two  cents,  your  three  thirty-six, 
your  two  twenty-one,  your  fifty-three  cents,  twenty-three  cents, 
and  thirty-nine  cents — a  complete  circle — and  you  have  twelve 
dollars  and  four  cents  within  the  center. 

Now,  brethren,  the  relation  of  the  benevolent  segment  to 
the  center  of  that  circle  is  so  small  that  every  man  of  Meth- 
odism has  occasion  to  fall  before  Cod  in  earnest  prayer  and 
ask  for  a  larger  vision  of  the  world's  need.  As  much  for 
others  as  for  ourselves!  This  part  of  the  segment  for  us, 
and  this  part  for  others.  I  wish  you  would  study  that  chart. 

Now,  when  you  study  these  charts  and  hand  them  down  to 
Conferences  and  to  districts  and  to  charges,  you  begin  to  locate 
the  responsibility  of  failure  and  success.  An  earnest  young 
preacher,  a  graduate  of  a  great  university  and  a  theological 
school,  said  to  me,  "What  can  I  do  to  increase  my  support?" 
I  said,  "Let  us  see."  I  drew  a  wheel  and  he  looked  at  his 
Minutes,  and  he  gave  me  figures,  and  the  rate  in  here  was 
$17.52,  of  which  he  was  receiving  forty-six  per  cent  for  his 
salary,  a  little  segment  for  property,  a  little  segment  for  cur- 
rent expenses,  and  then  just  enough  to  be  seen  for  benevo- 
lences. He  said,  "I  will  give  it  up."  Now,  brethren,  if  our 
preachers  are  in  the  business  of  preaching  to  get  money  for 
themselves  and  forget  the  claims  of  Calvary,  we  had  better 
change  preachers.  It  is  a  question  of  leadership,  and  until 
the  men  who  lead  realize  that  their  business  is  to  lead  toward 
the  cross  they  fail,  and  the  business  of  waking  this  great 
Church  of  ours  from  her  sleep  is  a  tremendous  task. 

Why  this  Convention?  This  Convention  is  to  map  out  a 
program,  to  mark  out  a  line  of  procedure,  and  then  upon  our 
bended  knees  before  God  pray  that  His  seal  of  approval  may 
be  upon  the  Convention  program  and  its  recommendations. 
The  business  of  this  Convention  is  to  send  every  man  home 
aflame  with  new  enthusiasm,  a  determined  enthusiasm  that 
will  keep  up  the  struggle  until  the  last  man  in  the  congrega- 
tion shall  have  contributed  something  for  the  extension  of  the 

59 


MILITANT  METHODISM. 

Kingdom.  How  many  of  your  people  are  paying?  Answer 
me  quickly,  answer  it  in  your  mind.  How  many  are  con- 
tributing ?  How  many  are  in  line,  how  many  of  your  people 
gave  something  in  1912?  You  say  we  have  heroic,  self-sacri- 
ficing people ;  yes,  we  have ;  but  listen.  Forty  thousand  dol- 
lars reported  as  the  annual  receipts  for  benevolent  collections. 
"Good."  Forty  thousand  dollars  from  sixty  thousand  well- 
to-do  Methodists.  Applause  on  the  Conference  floor  for  that 
is  not  right  before  God.  We  deal  with  totals.  That  is  our 
trouble.  We  say:  "0,  we  are  doing  gloriously!  We  are 
climbing  up  by  tens  and  hundreds  of  thousands  and  millions. ' ' 
No,  we  are  not !  We  are  dealing  in  totals.  Yes.  But  when 
you  count  totals,  count  also  the  members  and  the  wealth  and 
the  increase  of  prosperity  that  comes  with  the  passing  days. 
We  are  moving — hear  me.  We  are  moving  backwards  in 
reference  to  the  total  budget  tha't  we  spend  for  Church  pur- 
poses. 

What  is  our  record  ?  Forty -two  per  cent  increase  in  prop- 
erty in  eight  years,  but  the  increase  in  benevolent  offerings 
only  five  per  cent.  Brethren,  across  the  sea  we  have  almost 
doubled  our  probationers'  list  in  eight  years,  while  in  the 
homeland  we  have  fifty-two  thousand  less  probationers  than 
at  the  beginning  of  that  time.  In  those  foreign  fields  they 
stand  and  knock  at  the  door  of  the  Church,  and  no  man 
opens  to  let  them  in.  We  can  not  take  care  of  the  people 
who  are  offering  themselves  to  the  Church  of  God  across 
the  sea?  Why?  No  money!  Those  of  you  who  have  at- 
tended the  General  Committee  of  the  Church  will  understand 
when  I  say  this.  In  China  and  India  and  the  islands  of  the 
sea  our  missionaries  to-day  are  anxiously  waiting  for  the 
returns  of  1933,  to  know  whether  it  is  retreat  or  advance  for 
them.  There  are  ten  thousand  men  (9,943)  on  this  American 
continent  who  are  preaching  to-day  with  less  salary  than 
$1,000  cash,  including  house  rent,  Conference  Claimants,  Dis- 
trict Superintendents'  and  Bishops'  Fund.  There  are  4,155 
men  no  one  of  whom  receives  as  much  as  .$500  cash,  house  rent, 

60 


THE  FORCES  AND  THE  FIELD— A  SURVEY. 

Conference  Claimants,  District  Superintendents'  and  Bishops' 
Fund.  They  are  waiting  anxiously  to  know  whether  the  great 
Church  is  coming  to  their  rescue  or  not.  The  whole  world 
is  waiting  to  know.  We  have  been  playing  with  the  job. 
Seventy-six  cents  per  member  from  Church  and  Sunday 
school  does  not  represent  personal  sacrifice  on  the  part  of 
our  people. 

I  came  from  Philadelphia,  through  the  charming  farming 
district  east  of  the  Alleghenies,  across  the  Alleghenies, 
through  that  prosperous,  thrifty  section  of  the  country  to 
Pittsburgh,  where  I  was  born;  then  across  the  farm  lands 
and  valleys  to  Ohio,  where  I  was  reared,  to  this  spot  in 
which  Indianapolis  is  located,  and,  brethren,  when  I  stop  to 
think  of  the  contrast  between  the  civilization  of  these  favored 
places  with  the  civilization  of  our  West  land,  on  the  coast, 
in  the  mountains  and  the  plains,  in  the  new  and  sparsely 
settled  district,  where  they  have  everything  to  build — 
churchesr  schoolhouses,  mills,  factories,  homes,  everything — 
it  seems  to  me  so  great — O !  if  God  could  only  move  the  hearts 
of  the  people  in  this  East  land  to  give  a  tithe  unto  God,  we 
would  be  able  to  save  this  world. 

The  Size  and  Complexity  of  the  Organization  to  Be 

Moved. 

S.  EARL  TAYLOR. 

LAST  night  a  delegate  of  this  Convention  said  to  me,  knowing 
that  I  had  been  on  the  Program  Committee,  "Taylor,  what 
is  it  you  men  have  up  your  sleeve  f"  If  there  is  any  inside 
plan  for  this  Convention,  I  suspect  that  I  know  it,  because 
from  its  beginning  I  have  been  with  the  Laymen's  Missionary 
Movement  as  its  general  secretary  or  a  member  of  the  Ex- 
ecutive Committee,  and  from  the  beginning  I  have  been  on 
this  Program  Committee,  and  I  told  him  what  we  had  up  our 
sleeve,  and  I  will  tell  you.  I  said :  We  shall  not  have  a  collec- 
tion, and  I  suppose  it  will  be  the  first  time  in  Methodist  history 

61 


MILITANT  METHODISM. 

when  a  great  Convention  like  this  came  together  and  was  per- 
mitted to  go  away  without  a  collection.  In  the  second  place, 
we  do  not  have  any  cut-and-dried  program,  as  we  are  in  very 
great  doubt  as  to  what  ought  to  be  done ;  we  have  absolutely 
nothing  up  our  sleeve,  but  we  have  deep  down  in  our  hearts, 
so  that  we  feel  it  clear  from  the  crown  of  our  heads  to  the 
tip  of  our  toes,  that  the  time  has  come  for  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church  to  face  her  whole  task  and  face  it  whole. 
This  is  in  view  of  the  facts  presented  to  you  by  Dr.  Hollings- 
head,  that  the  whole  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  during  the 
last  four  years  decreased  her  offerings  to  all  the  benevolences. 
If  you  take  the  congregational  collection  alone,  that  great  body 
of  our  people  who  met  week  by  week  decreased  the  offerings  to 
these  great  benevolences  $84,066.  I  am  not  speaking  of  the 
foreign  missionary  work  alone,  but  to  give  you  an  illustration, 
because  I  have  these  facts  more  at  my  fingers'  end,  in  the  face 
of  what  Bishop  Stuntz  told  you  last  night  and  what  Dr. 
Oldham  told  you  in  the  afternoon,  in  1910,  of  the  Spring  Con- 
ferences nineteen  decreased  their  offerings  to  Foreign  Mis- 
sions; the  next  year  twenty-eight  decreased  their  offerings  to 
Foreign  Missions ;  the  next  year,  thirty-three  Spring  Confer- 
ences decreased  their  offerings  to  Foreign  Missions.  Of  the 
Fall  Conferences  in  1910,  twenty-nine  decreased;  in  1911, 
sixty ;  in  1912,  but  for  the  extraordinary  efforts  led  by  Bishop 
Lewis,  we  hardly  know  what  would  have  happened,  but 
twenty-eight  decreased.  We  are  now  facing  a  condition  like 
that,  and  we  ought  to  bow  before  Almighty  God  and  ask  Him 
what  we  ought  to  do. 

Now,  a  great  general  is  never  a  pessimist.  He  knows  the 
weakness  of  his  own  army,  he  knows  the  obstacles  to  be  faced, 
the  strength  and  weakness  of  the  enemy,  better  than  any 
pessimist  does.  It  is  my  task  here  this  morning  to  review 
with  you  some  of  the  difficulties  that  are  in  the  way  of  the 
Church,  and  if  I  have  any  right  at  all  to  speak  upon  this  sub- 
ject, it  is  simply  because  of  the  fact  that  for  fourteen  years 
you  have  set  me  to  the  task,  first,  of  organizing  an  educa- 

62 


THE  FORCES  AND  THE  FIELD— A  SURVEY. 

tional  campaign,  then  a  financial  campaign  under  the  Com- 
mission on  Finance  and  the  Board  of  Foreign  Missions,  and 
an  inspirational  campaign  to  give  the  Church  higher  stand- 
ards, and  if  we  have  not  learned  how  to  do  it,  we  have  at 
least  learned  some  of  the  difficulties  in  the  way  of  doing  it, 
and  it  is  well  to  face  them  for  a  little  while. 

First  of  all,  the  size  of  the  organization  to  be  moved.  A 
bright,  clear-eyed  minister  of  a  Northern  Minnesota  Confer- 
ence came  to  me  and  said :  ' '  Mr.  Taylor,  the  trouble  with  this 
whole  benevolent  enterprise  is  that  you  do  not  keep  our  mem- 
bership definitely  in  mind;  you  do  not  keep  the  gift-givers 
definitely  informed.  A  large  number  of  the  members  of  my 
Church  receive  from  the  companies  with  which  they  are  con- 
nected an  annual  statement,  and  the  benevolent  enterprises 
of  the  Church  ought  to  see  that  an  annual  statement,  giving 
'definite  information  concerning  receipts  and  expenditures,  is 
sent  with  a  personal  letter  to  every  giver  to  its  causes."  I 
said,  "That  will  be  a  very  fine  thing  to  do,"  and  then  I  took 
my  pencil.  I  knew  something  about  the  cost  of  stenographic 
work  and  how  long  it  takes  an  expert  stenographer  to  do  his 
work.  He  said,  by  the  way,  ' '  Do  n  't  send  circulars,  but  write 
a  personal  letter."  I  found  it  would  take  an  expert  stenog- 
rapher fifty-nine  years  to  write  the  letters,  and  that  for  en- 
velopes, stationery,  postage,  and  the  rest,  it  would  cost  $131,- 
000  to  do  it.  Another  man  said  to  me — many  have  said  to  me, 
"Why  do  you  not  send  statements  concerning  these  financial 
plans  to  all  the  official  members  ? ' '  Hundreds'  of  pastors  have 
sent  in  their  lists.  They  have  said,  ' '  Write  to  each  one  of  our 
official  members."  By  calculation  I  found  it  would  take  nine 
stenographers  one  year  to  write  the  briefest  letters.  It  would 
cost  more  than  $30,000  to  do  it.  One  of  the  great  Boards 
of  our  Church  has  stood  aghast  at  the  proposal  of  the  Com- 
mission on  Finance  to  spend  $15,000  for  all  the  Boards  for 
field  work,  printed  matter,  publicity,  and  all  the  rest.  How, 
then,  are  you  going  to  do  your  job  ?  How  will  you  move  the 
Church?  Even  to  address  a  letter  to  the  pastors,  Sunday 

63 


MILITANT  METHODISM. 

school  superintendents,  Epworth  League  officers  on  our  lists 
(and  we  do  not  have  more  than  one-half  of  the  Sunday  school 
officers)  would  make  a  list  of  more  than  fifty -nine  thousand 
names;  and  it  would  cost  more  than  $5,000  to  send  out  a 
personal  letter. 

We  have  another  problem — the  amount  of  money  to  raise, 
the  size  of  the  budget.  I  have  a  letter  here,  a  sample  rather 
of  the  letters  we  get,  but  only  occasionally — perhaps  they  do 
not  all  tell  us  what  is  in  the  heart ;  this  man  did.  He  addressed 
it,  ' '  Gentlemen ! "  "  Gentlemen :  It  is  enough  to  take  the  grit 
and  heart  out  of  a  fellow.  Here  you  men  are  on  fat  salaries 
and  spending  large  sums  of  money  on  office  expenses,  conduct- 
ing everything  in  the  most  affluent  manner.  You  would  not 
touch  with  your  little  finger  the  burdens  laid  upon  us.  Just 
one  turn  of  the  hand  and  you  demand  more  than  we  can  beg 
and  scrape  and  collect  from  our  people  in  all  the  year.  Your 
Brother  in  Christ. ' '  No,  he  is  not  a  bad  man. '  Some  of  these 
men  do  not  understand  the  situation.  You  take  a  man  in  a 
small  rural  parish,  the  money  comes  hard  and  in  small 
amounts,  and  tell  him  that  we  have  to  get  $4,000,000,  and  it 
is  a  staggering  amount.  Now,  how  will  you  lift  the  Church 
up?  Is  it  a  staggering  amount?  It  is  the  merest  bagatelle 
compared  with  what  we  are  doing  as  a  Church.  I  have  here 
the  statement  concerning  the  gifts  of  all  Protestant  Churches 
in  the  United  States  to  all  colleges,  as  estimated  by  the 
Church  News  Association — $260,000,000  a  year.  I  have  here 
a  statement  of  the  amount  spent  by  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church  for  all  colleges  in  the  last  twenty-four  years,  as  far 
back  as  we  have  an  accurate  account  on  these  lines.  Since 
1888  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  has  spent  for  all  colleges 
$188,144,242.  Last  year  we  spent  for  ministerial  support,  in 
round  numbers,  $16,000,000;  for  property,  $10,000,000;  for 
current  expenses,  $17,000,000.  Huge  sums  of  money,  if  you 
take  the  totals.  The  point  I  am  making  is,  that  if  you  deal 
with  Methodism  and  take  the  totals  you  have  to  deal  in  mil- 

64 


THE  FORCES  AND  THE  FIELD— A  SURVEY. 

lions.  Our  people  must  be  trained  to  think  in  larger  terms 
than  ever  before. 

Turn  from  Church  affairs  to  larger  statistics,  and  sums 
are  blindly  staggering.  We  do  not  understand  them.  For 
army  and  navy  the  United  States  spends  annually  $217,- 
000,000,  and  Great  Britain  $334,000,000,  and  Germany  a  cor- 
respondingly large  sum.  If  you  come  to  education,  New  York 
City  alone  spends  $85,000,000  annually,  and  on  her  educa- 
tional plant  she  has  spent  $524,000,000.  If  you  take  the 
farm  products  of  the  Nation  you  pass  out  of  all  human  under- 
standing— $9,000,000,000  and  more  in  farm  products  a  year. 
You  can  take  twenty-dollar  gold  pieces  and  pile  them  up 
a  half-mile  high,  two  miles  high,  seven  miles  high,  one  on  top 
of  another,  to  show  the  value  of  our  farm  products  annually. 
Our  increase  in  real  estate  alone  in  the  last  ten  years  is  of 
almost  incomprehensible  proportions.  In  Minnesota  alone,  the 
Southern  half  of  the  State,  a  banker  told  us  that  the  increase 
in  real  estate  and  farm  products  for  two  years  had  turned 
into  the  pockets  of  the  people  of  that  State  a  billion  dollars 
in  cash.  In  the  face  of  these  larger  totals,  $4,000,000  is 
pitiably  small.  And  this  Church,  instead  of  thinking  four 
millions,  must  think  in  terms  of  twenty  and  thirty  millions 
if  we  are  to  do  our  job.  The  city  mission  enterprise  alone 
ought  to  have  the  entire  four  million  dollars.  You  can  not 
handle  city  missions  in  New  York  City  or  Chicago  on  a  budget 
of  fifty  or  eighty  thousand  dollars.  The  West  Side  Branch 
of  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Association  in  New  York  City 
spends  $300,000  annually  on  its  budget,  and  so  wisely  that 
they  are  commanding  increased  support  of  business  men. 
We  Methodists  in  New  York  City  spend  something  like 
$89,000  for  the  entire  work  of  our  City  Missionary  Society. 

In  addition  to  all  these  facts,  we  have  the  complexity  of 
organization  to  deal  with.  Somebody  lias  said  that  the  Meth- 
odist Episcopal  Church  is  the  greatest  organization  on  earth ;  it 
is,  and  it  is  becoming  one  of  the  most  complex  organizations  on 

•  65 


MILITANT  METHODISM. 

earth.  Take  the  local  Church;  the  General  Conference  made 
the  plan  of  having  a  Committee  on  Foreign  Missions,  Home 
Missions,  Freedmen's  Aid,  and  so  on.  These  Committees  have 
brought  in  independent  reports,  and  when  a  new  society  was 
created  the  founders  have  had  put  in  the  Discipline  certain 
little  jokers  to  carry  forward  their  institution ;  and  if  you  will 
put  on  a  chart  the  things  to  be  done  by  the  average  preacher 
for  the  average  Church,  if  they  are  faithful  to  the  Discipline, 
you  will  find  it  is  an  utterly  unworkable  program.  If  you 
go  to  an  Annual  Conference,  possibly  there  will  be  seven- 
teen men  to  speak  on  the  platform,  representing  great  enter- 
prises, but  if  you  will  sit  down  with  the  Conference  Board 
of  earnest  men,  who  say  that  they  ought  to  do  something 
and  begin  to  plan  definitely  to  have  an  inspirational  pro- 
gram; and  then,  if  you  sit  down  with  the  Home  Missions 
and  the  Conference  Board  on  Freedmen's  Aid,  you  will  find 
that  if  these  Boards  become  efficient  there  will  be  a  head-on 
collision  in  six  weeks.  The  only  thing  that  is  feasible  is  to 
have  them  federate  and  have  a  campaign.  Otherwise  your 
district  superintendents  and  pastors  are  facing  the  request 
we  sent  to  Dr.  Fisher  in  Baltimore:  we  requested  him  to 
have  a  campaign  for  a  certain  cause,  and  the  district  super- 
intendent said  that  the  representative  of  another  cause  had 
arranged  for  a  campaign  and  they  could  not  have  two  cam- 
paigns at  the  same  time  or  in  immediate  succession.  We  are 
actually  staggering  our  district  superintendents  and  our 
preachers  and  the  Church  by  multiplied  appeals  unrelated 
to  each  other,  until  our  people  don't  know  what  to  do.  I 
was  at  a  District  Conference,  where  a  fine  district  superin- 
tendent said,  "Let  us  face  the  whole  task,  let  us  have  the 
representatives  of  the  great  Boards  come  and  present  the  task 
to  us ; "  and  being  down  nearer  the  Church — to  the  collection, 
I  mean — they  had  the  practical  side  of  it.  This  is  what 
happened:  a  representative  of  the  Conference  Claimants,  one 
of  the  finest  of  their  preachers,  had  been  chosen  to  carry  on 
a  campaign,  and  he  made  a  superb  statement  about  that  great 

6G 


THE  FORCES  AND  THE  FIELD— A  SURVEY. 

cause,  and  he  said,  "We  raised  $50,000  last  year  in  this  Con- 
ference, and  this  year  we  want  to  raise  a  dollar  a  member, 
and  we  want,  the  first  Sunday  in  November,  to  have  a  thor- 
ough campaign;  and  we  will  send  you  the  literature,  and  the 
responsibility  is  on  you  pastors ; ' '  and  it  was,  and  they  walked 
up  to  it  as  earnest  men  and  they  said,  "We  will  do  it."  The 
college  representative  came  along,  and  he  said:  "We  raised 
a  half  million  dollars  for  buildings;  we  must  have  a  gym- 
nasium, and  we  have  got  to  have  a  great  endowment  fund, 
but  I  will  not  talk  about  it ;  but  we  must  have  a  sustentation 
fund,  and  I  want  fifty  cents  per  member,  and  we  will  send  you 
the  literature  as  soon  as  you  get  the  Conference  Claimants 
out  of  the  way,  and  the  responsibility  is  on  you,"  and  they 
voted  it.  And  that  was  followed  by  the  rural  question,  and 
it  was  shown  how  the  rural  ministers  change — ninety  out  of  a 
hundred — because  they  could  not  live  under  the  conditions; 
and  he  said,  "We  must  put  into  the  hands  of  our  district 
superintendent  $8,000  and  I  move  we  raise  so  much  per  capita, 
and  the  responsibility  is  upon  you."  When  that  had  been 
done,  they  came  from  the  hospitals  and  the  Brotherhood  and 
they  said,  "The  responsibility  is  upon  the  pastor  to  organize 
the  Brotherhood ; ' '  and  I  was  there  prepared  to  represent  the 
Freedmen's  Aid  and  the  Bible  Societ\r,  and  I  didn't  have  the 
nerve  to  do  it.  An  old  college  chum  came  to  me  and  said: 
' '  This  puts  me  out  of  business ;  I  am  going  back  and  do  what 
I  did  last  year,  and  you  fellows  can  write  until  you  get  black 
in  the  face."  I  said,  "I  want  to  take  lunch  with  you."  He 
was  a  fine  fellow,  but  he  was  discouraged.  I  said,  "The  only 
way  you  will  do  this  thing  is  to  go  to  the  Church  with  a 
whole  program  which  the  people  can  understand,  and  put  it 
up  to  the  people  and  have  everybody  give  and  give  sys- 
tematically, and  you  can  do  the  whole  business." 

I  want  to  deal  with  my  final  point,  and  do  it  frankly  and 
with  absolutely  nothing  in  my  heart  but  the  interest  of  the 
Kingdom  of  Christ.  If  there  was  a  vote  taken  here  concern- 
ing the  number  of  secretaries,  I  have  no  doubt  that  the  vote 

67 


MILITANT  METHODISM. 

would  be  for  reducing  the  present  number.  Let  us  face  the 
facts.  I  want  to  say  in  behalf  of  my  brethren  in  secretarial 
relationship  that  if  the  Church  will  demonstrate  that  our 
offices  are  not  needed,  our  resignations  are  in  your  hands  im- 
mediately. We  are  not  trying  to  save  machinery  nor  ecclesi- 
astical prestige,  as  Bishop  McDowell  phrased  it,  but  we  are 
trying  to  save  men,  and  the  machinery  can  go  on  the  scrap- 
heap.  But  I  notice  in  this  hand-book  the  pictures  of  the 
General  Conference  officers,  two  pages  here  in  number,  and 
if  you  will  open  it  you  will  see  the  official  list  of  the  secre- 
taries— not  all  of  them  official,  but  taking  in  other  things.  In 
other  words,  just  a  handful  of  men  to  take  charge  of  this 
great  program  of  the  Church.  Now,  what  are  the  facts? 
There  is  a  sensitiveness  in  the  Church  about  secretaries,  and 
justly  so.  Yet  I  undertake  to  say  that,  aside  from  the  cor- 
responding secretaries,  we  have  not  too  many  secretaries  to 
handle  this  great  enterprise.  Why?  I  was  examining  the 
facts.  I  got  the  facts  from  the  editor  of  the  Year-book,  and 
this  is  what  he  said:  "There  are  in  the  Methodist  Church 
three  hundred  and  thirty- four  ministers  of  the  gospel  set 
aside  to  handle  the  denominational  charities  and  the  outside 
organizations  like  the  Anti-Saloon  League.  There  are  for 
all  these  enterprises  three  hundred  and  thirty-four  men." 
And  if  the  cost  of  these  men — counting  postage,  stenographer, 
traveling  expenses,  house  rent,  and  salary — if  the  total  should 
be  $2,000  a  year,  which  I  consider  a  modest  amount,  do  you 
know  it  would  cost  us  in  a  quadrennium  $2,672,000  for  this 
alone?  And  I  want  to  say  to  you  that  the  reason  why  we 
are  giving  more  to  non-connectional  than  to  connectional 
causes  is  because  there  are  three  hundred  and  thirty-four 
men  out  after  this,  and  in  the  great  connectional  enterprises 
you  try  to  put  in  a  common  budget  and  have  two  or  three 
or  four  men,  and  the  Church  says  we  are  having  too  many 
secretaries.  There  was  an  editorial  in  one  of  our  semi-official 
papers,  presumably  under  the  approval  of  a  bishop,  and  this 
editorial  says  in  substance,  "We  have  too  many  secretaries  in 

68 


THE  FORCES  AND  THE  FIELD— A  SURVEY. 

the  Church,  especially  foreign  missionary  secretaries."  Now, 
I  went  back  over  the  records  for  a  period  of  years  and  I  found 
during  the  past  quadrenniura  if  you  draw  a  line  from  the 
Mississippi  River  to  the  Coast,  where  other  Boards  have  one 
or  two  men  we  had  one  man  for  Iowa,  Illinois,  Wisconsin, 
Kansas,  Nebraska,  Minnesota,  and  all  the  Pacific  Coast,  and 
one  other  man  for  the  central  area;  and  for  the  whole  At- 
lantic seaboard,  New  York,  Pennsylvania,  and  New  England, 
all  of  that  rich  territory,  we  did  not  have  a  man.  We  have 
not  that  many  now.  We  threw  out  a  drag-net  in  an  effort 
to  get  all  the  secretaries  together,  and  what  did  we  find? 
Four  men,  one  of  whom  was  a  recording  secretary.  We  found 
four  men,  plus  some  men  among  the  colored  people  of  the 
South.  We  have  not  that  many  now.  If  you  threw  out  a 
drag-net  to-day,  you  would  get  two  white  men  in  the  North, 
and  some  of  the  men  among  the  colored  workers  in  the  South. 
I  undertake  to  say,  gentlemen,  that  you  can  not  lift  this 
Church  of  ours  up  with  that  sort  of  a  staff. 

And  now  I  come  to  what  is  in  the  back. of  your  minds. 
You  are  saying:  "But  you  are  not  taking  into  account  our 
connectionalism.  You  are  not  taking  into  consideration  the 
fact  of  our  pastors  and  our  district  superintendents."  I  am 
taking  that  into  account,  and  I  recognize  that  these  men  arc 
our  leaders,  divinely  appointed.  We  follow  them  as  our 
leaders,  and  what  happens?  We  are  now  trying  to  bring 
our  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  over  from  an  old,  antiquated 
financial  system  fully  outgrown,  to  a  new  plan  that  takes 
organization  methods,  and  the  average  pastor  will  tell  you, 
if  you  go  to  him  and  say,  "You  need  forty  men  to  conduct 
this  campaign  in  your  Church,"  he  will  say:  "My  men  are 
not  ready  for  it,  for  they  have  not  done  this  kind  of  thing. 
Can  you  help  me  lift  them  up?  Come  to  my  Church  and  we 
will  try  it. ' '  And  when  we  have  gone  to  a  Church  where  the 
pastor  had  that  help,  the  work  has  been  done.  We  have  in 
New  York  City,  in  one  of  the  largest  Churches,  a  condition 
where  they  came  to  us  and  said,  "If  we  could  get  forty  of 

69 


MILITANT  METHODISM. 

our  big  men  in  this  Church,  if  we  could  get  these  men  to 
set  aside  a  day  or  two  to  work  for  this  movement,  we  would 
succeed."  They  had  Dr.  Fisher  up  there  twice,  and  myself 
two  or  three  times,  and  finally  they  got  lifted  out.  At  first 
they  met  us  with  every  objection.  Finally  they  did  it.  The 
pastor  said,  when  the  achievement  was  reached:  "We  have 
done  certain  types  of  social  work  in  this  Church.  We  have 
had  sewing  circles,  and  put  out  a  patronizing  hand.  But  the 
biggest  piece  of  social  service  ever  done  to  this  Church  was 
when  forty  of  our  men  went  down  on  the  East  Side,  among 
the  poor  people,  and  met  them  face  to  face  and  counseled 
with  them."  What  was  the  result?  Five  thousand  dollars 
increase  over  all  they  had  ever  given  before,  and  two  hundred 
new  givers  added  to  the  list. 

A  cry  comes  up  from  the  pastors  and  district  superin- 
tendents, of  whom:  there  may  be  three  hundred  here,  perhaps 
the  largest  number  ever  gathered  togther.  They  are  coming 
around  and  saying,  "Can't  you  help  us  have  a  campaign 
over  all  our  district,  as  in  North  Indiana  ?  We  want  to  do  it, 
but  must  have  help."  If  this  great  Church  of  ours  is  to 
swing  from  that  old  basis  of  an  annual  collection  to  the  basis 
of  correlation  of  forces,  it  will  only  be  done  by  efficient  busi- 
ness methods  which  business  men  know  so  well  how  to  intro- 
duce. I  am  not  pleading  for  a  large  increase  in  the  number 
of  field  secretaries.  But  let  us  not  be  turned  aside  by  any 
petty  criticism.  Let  us  face  the  facts  squarely.  Let  us  lay 
out  a  plan  here  that  is  adequate,  and  then  go  ahead  and 
do  the  things  in  the  name  of  Almighty  God.  The  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church  is  face  to  face  with  a  supreme  opportunity. 
It  is  not  yet  determined  whether  or  not  we  will  enter  into 
the  door.  I  talked  with  old  Dr.  Reed,  over  here  in  Michigan, 
who  has  been  in  the  Methodist  ministry  longer  than  most 
of  us  have  lived.  I  said,  "As  a  result  of  your  long  life  and 
ministry,  what  is  the  result  to  a  Christian  if  he  disobeys  God 
deliberately,  with  full  knowledge  of  the  facts?"  He  said, 
"The  man  will  die  spiritually."  I  said,  "Do  you  believe  it?" 

70 


THE  FORCES  AND  THE  FIELD— A  SURVEY. 

He  said,  "I  know  it."  I  said,  "What  will  happen  to  a  de- 
nomination if  it  sees  that  it  is  called  of  God  to  do  a  great 
task  and  deliberately  refuses  to  do  what  God  calls  it  to  do?" 
He  said,  "It  will  die  spiritually."  Then  he  ^quoted  that 
striking  sentence  of  Bishop  Fowler,  at  California  Avenue, 
some  years  ago:  "It  is  a  solemn  thing  for  an  individual  or 
a  Church  or  a  Nation  to  stand  before  the  door  opened  in  the 
providence  of  God  and  not  enter  that  door.  The  shores  of 
time  are  strewed  with  the  wreckage  of  nations  and  of  ec- 
clesiastical organizations  and  individuals  that  have  delib- 
erately disobeyed  Almighty  God."  And  if  ever  God  wanted 
a  Church  to  go  forward,  He  calls  us  now. 

• 

The  Proposed  Remedy. 
J.  B.  TRIMBLE. 

THIS  screen  with  the  views  thrown  upon  it  will  give  us  va- 
riety. Holding  in  our  thought  the  drift  so  startlingly  pre- 
sented by  the  first  speaker  this  morning,  and  the  size  and 
complexity  of  the  constituency  to  be  moved,  the  task  assigned 
to  me  seems  to  be  rather  difficult.  I  think  that  the  wording 
of  the  topic  is  in  my  favor:  Note,  it  is  not  a  remedy,  but 
the  remedy  proposed.  Before  answering  the  question,  what 
the  remedy  is,  mJay  I  say  this?  That  in  the  light  of  what 
we  have  heard  this  morning,  whatever  the  remedy  be,  if 
effective  it  must  do  two  or  three  things:  it  must  make  clear 
the  existing  conditions  referred  to  by  Mr.  Taylor  by  means  of 
a  great  educational  campaign.  I  take  it  that  Secretary  Tay- 
lor's remarks  were  based  upon  the  conviction  that  if  our  peo- 
ple know,  they  will  do.  I  wonder  if  that  is  debatable? 
Hardly,  if  we  intelligently  and  persistently  emphasize  the 
know.  You  can  not  do  that  with  the  annual  missionary  ser- 
mon preached  semi-quadrennially,  and  the  monthly  mission- 
ary concert  of  prayer  never  observed,  and  the  Sunday  schools 
of  our  great  Church  organized  into  missionary  societies  in 
part.  If  we  find  it  difficult  to  instruct  our  young  people 

71 


MILITANT  METHODISM. 

in  mathematics,  spending  ten  minutes  a  month  or  two  hours 
a  year,  then  how  can  we  expect  to  have  a  benevolent  Church 
in  the  history  of  to-morrow  in  the  way  we  have  been  conduct- 
ing an  educational  campaign  ?  There  is  a  better  way  of  doing 
it  than  that.  How  succeed?  "By  the  impartation  of  facts," 
said  the  second  vice-president  of  a  district  Epworth  League  in 
the  West  some  time  ago,  who  was  succeeding  marvelously.  She 
was  a  doctor.  She  said,  "By  the  irapartation  of  facts,  and  if 
you  will  allow  me  to  express  it  medically,  I  first  apply  them 
externally  and  then  apply  them  internally,  and  keep  at  it  eter- 
nally. "  Now,  let  us  look  at  this  chart  a  moment.  The  General 
Conference  action  of  1912  provided  that  a  full  month  be 
given  to  'educational  preparation  before  the  every-member 
canvass,  and  it  assigned  intervals  during  the  year  at  which 
the  various  causes  should  be  presented.  I  said  to  a  pastor 
some  time  ago  that  under  the  rule  he  ought  to  preach  on 
missions  once  in  three  months.  He  said,  "When  would  I 
preach  the  gospel  if  I  did  that?"  It  also  provided  that  "Pro- 
vision be  made  in  every  Church  for  special  sermons  and  in- 
spirational addresses  and  systematic  instruction  and  steward- 
ship." 

Second,  the  remedy  if  effective  ought  to  be  comprehensive 
enough  to  cover  all  Church  finance.  Any  Board  that  forgets 
the  interests  of  other  Boards  cuts  the  nerve  of  its  success,  and 
ought  to.  The  Boards  that  forget  the  base  of  supplies  and 
get  all  the  money  they  can  regardless  of  how  you  take  care 
of  the  local  budget,  are  on  the  wrong  tack  and  ought  to  fail. 
Any  remedy  to  be  effective  ought  to  cover  all  Church  finance. 
Look  at  this  chart.  When  each  Church  provides  for  sub- 
scriptions for  benevolences  and  current  expenses — that  is  the 
result  of  the  General  Conference  covering  the  whole  field. 
Third,  the  remedy  must  deal  with  the  many — not  only  with 
all  Church  finances,  but  with  the  people  who  contribute.  I 
think  it  ought  to  deal  very  effectively  with  the  people  men- 
tioned by  a  speaker  yesterday,  who  have  unusual  capacity 
for  controlling  their  benevolent  emotions  and  never  contrib- 

72 


THE  FORCES  AND  THE  FIELD— A  SURVEY. 

ute  anything  at  all.  What  are  the  real  facts  about  that? 
Two-thirds  of  the  people  in  the  Methodist  Church  are  not 
in  benevolent  activity  at  all.  I  sat  at  dinner  yesterday 
with  a  prominent  layman  of  Indiana,  and  he  said,  "In 
our  Church  under  the  old  plan  we  only  had  one  hundred 
and  sixty-seven  out  of  a  membership  of  six  hundred." 
Ninety-six  in  a  Kansas  Church  out  of  a  membership  of  six 
hundred.  I  talked  to  a  group  of  men  in  Iowa,  pressing  them 
to  adopt  a  business  system  in  Church  finance.  A  leading  lay- 
man said:  "Why,  we  are  in  debt  here;  all  our  people  now 
are  giving  all  they  can.  What  would  you  do  in  a  case  of 
that  kind?"  I  said,  "You  have  this  argument — are  they  all 
giving!"  The  secretary  read  how  many  were  giving,  and 
found  they  had  a  hundred  and  fifty-six  on  the  pay-roll  for 
any  cause  whatever.  "How  many  members  have  you?" 
"Eleven  hundred."  Eleven  hundred  members,  and  a  hundred 
and  fifty-six  on  the  pay-roll.  It  is  absolutely  necessary  to 
bring  into  activity  not  to  burden  the  faithful  few  that  are 
giving  now,  but  to  interest  every  member  so  he  will  give. 
One  million  of  our  Church  members  are  in  benevolent  ac- 
tivity. You  add  another  million  in  the  next  year,  a  half 
a  million  at  two  cents  a  week,  a  quarter  of  a  million  at  five 
cents  a  week,  a  quarter  of  a  million  at  ten  cents  a  week,  and 
what  would  you  have  ?  Two  million  four  hundred  and  seventy 
thousand  dollars  added  to  our  benevolences.  That  is  not 
theory,  that  is  possible.  Every  Church  that  has  introduced 
the  new  plan  understands  that  it  can  be  done. 

Look  again  at  the  chart.  See  if  it  would  be  possible  to 
arrange  a  personal  canvass  if  the  Churches  support  it. 
Would  that  take  in  the  children?  I  asked  a  group  of  men 
how  old  a  girl  or  boy  ought  to  be  before  he  began  to  con- 
tribute to  the  Church  budget.  One  said  fourteen,  another 
said  seven,  but  the  best  answer  I  had  was  this,  that  as  soon 
as  a  boy  or  girl  is  old  enough  to  chew  gum  he  is  old  enough 
to  help  support  the  Church.  I  think  when  they  commence 
to  chew  gum  they  ought  to  tithe  their  gum  money  and  help 

73 


MILITANT  METHODISM. 

support  the  Church.  Let  us  think  of  the  educational  effect 
upon  the  boys  and  girls  of  our  Churches.  Do  not  let  the  boys 
go  around  talking  about  "father's  Church"  and  "mother's 
Church"  and  "father's  dominie;"  link  them  up  with  the 
great  work. 

We  must  build  again  on  a  business  system,  I  was  down 
in  Oklahoma  a  little  while  ago,  at  one  of  the  stations  on  the 
Rock  Island  road,  where  there  is  a  colored  gentleman  who  acts 
as  porter  and  calls  trains.  A  man  asked  him,  "Is  this  the 
Rock  Island  System  ? "  "  This  is  the  Rock  Island  Railway ;  they 
have  no  system. ' '  He  was  slandering  the  Rock  Island.  That 
is  not  true  so  far  as  the  Rock  Island  System  is  concerned,  but 
it  could  be  said  about  a  good  many  Methodist  Churches 
and  you  would  not  have  to  take  it  back.  The  plan  must 
be  built  on  system.  That  is,  we  must  guard  against  money 
that  has  been  subscribed  for  light,  fuel,  and  music  going 
over  into  New  York,  into  Dr.  Nicholson's  budget  for  Edu- 
cational Society ;  money  that  has  been  subscribed  for  preach- 
er's  salary  being  sent  to  Cincinnati,  to  the  Freedmen's  Aid 
Society.  We  must  not  get  the  money  mixed  up.  Sometimes 
money  subscribed  for  the  Freedmen's  Aid  may  go  into  dif- 
ferent channels  from  what  it  is  intended  for.  I  knew  of  a 
case  last  autumn  where  four  hundred  dollars  subscribed 
for  benevolences  got  into  the  ministerial  budget  and  was 
spent  for  ministerial  demands.  So  we  must  have  a  business 
system. 

Let  us  look  at  another  chart.  Two  distinct  superintend- 
ents in  the  local  Church;  two  treasurers  in  each  Quarterly 
Conference,  to  avoid  the  payment  of  heavy  interest.  The  plan, 
to  be  effective,  must  take  in  the  whole  congregation,  bring  all 
the  Church  members  into  benevolent  activity,  and  have  them 
giving  on  a  regular,  systematic  basis.  Talking  to  a  group  of 
men  in  a  Western  city,  I  exhorted  them  to  get  the  habit,  and 
said  that  to  get  a  habit  you  must  participate  frequently.  The 
question  was  raised  as  to  whether  a  man  could  ever  form  a 
tobacco  habit  by  smoking  a  cigar  once  a  year.  "Why,  no," 

74 


THE  FORCES  AND  THE  FIELD— A  SURVEY. 

one  layman  said ;  ' '  that  would  make  a  man  sick  every  time. ' ' 
Another  bright  fellow  spoke  up  and  said:  "That  is  what  is 
the  matter  with  you  preachers.  You  only  present  a  benevo- 
lence once  a  year,  and  it  makes  us  sick  every  time." 

Then,  fifthly,  the  plan  to  be  effective  ought  to  be  pro- 
tective in  its  character.  Look  at  that  next  chart,  that  tells 
of  that  protective  General  Conference  legislation.  It  is  ad- 
vised that  no  cause  not  recommended  by  the  Conference  Com- 
mission on  Finance  be  admitted  to  the  pulpits  of  our  Churches 
for  presentation  and  financial  appeal.  Let  me  read  you  an 
answer  that  came  in  to  Bishop  Cranston's  questionaire  that 
will  emphasize  that:  "We  have  during  the  past  year  had 
appeals  from  and  have  contributed  to  the  following:  Anti- 
Saloon  League,  Old  People's  Home,  the  Orphanage,  Chil- 
dren's Home,  Old  Ladies'  Home,  Young  Men's  Christian 
Association,  the  Training  School  in  Cincinnati,  a  German 
Methodist  institution,  Mission  in  Russia,  a  German  Mission 
Society,  and  one  or  two  more;  and  next  Sunday  we  are  re- 
quested to  make  an  appeal  for  a  Protestant  Orphanage  in 
Jerusalem,  but  I  draw  the  line."  Any  plan  must,  if  it  is 
protective,  protect  our  Churches  from  being  foraged  on  by 
non-official  appeals  as  they  have  been  in  the  past. 

I  wish  I  had  time  to  spend  on  that,  but  I  must  hasten. 
One  other  thing  it  must  do.  It  must  minister  to  the  social 
aspect.  Let  me  give  you  an  incident  in  connection  with  the 
Church  that  Mr.  Taylor  referred  to.  Some  of  those  laymen 
that  made  that  canvass  in  that  prominent  city  Church — all 
of  them — were  at  prayer-meeting  on  Wednesday  night,  which 
was  unusual.  This  was  their  experience:  they  said,  "We 
have  met  people  who  have  been  members  of  the  Church  for 
ten  years  whom  we  never  before  knew  to  be  members  of  it." 
What  is  the  plan?  Here  is  a  summary  of  the  new  financial 
plan  for  the  local  Church :  an  adequate  educational  cam- 
paign ;  a  personal  canvass  to  bring  all  into  activity,  a  canvass 
of  all  the  members  and  supporters  of  the  Church  annually; 
subscriptions  on  the  weekly  basis;  uniform  collecting  devices, 

75 


MILITANT  METHODISM. 

such  as  the  by-pocket  envelope,  and  two  treasurers ;  quarterly 
remittances,  or  probably  monthly. 

This  is  the  plan.  Will  it  work?  Will  this  new  plan  work ? 
After  all,  that  is  the  test  of  the  whole  business.  Has  it  been 
tried  and  found  successful?  Here  is  a  chart.  "In  single 
Churches  in  a  whole  city,  in  the  district,  in  the  Conferences, 
in  the  denomination."  I  want  to  show  you,  first,  a  chart  of 
the  most  difficult  thing  in  Methodism,  the  rural  Church.  I 
came  from  ray  Conference  the  other  day,  where  motions  were 
made  to  sell  two  churches  that  I  had  struggled  with  years 
ago  when  I  was  on  the  district.  I  dedicated  one  of  them  when 
the  thermometer  stood  at  one  hundred  and  over.  Brothers, 
we  simply  must  get  something  that  will  take  care  of  the  rural 
Church  if  we  are  going  to  take  care  of  Methodism,  We  simply 
must  take  care  of  the  country  proposition.  Here  is  a  rural 
Church  in  Iowa  [shown  on  screen]  ;  under  no  system  at  all 
they  had  120  members,  25  Sunday  school  scholars,  no  Epworth 
League,  and  raised  $220  for  all  expenses,  salary  and  all. 
Under  this  new  plan  they  raised  $900  for  current  expenses, 
$90  for  Missions,  $40  for  the  Woman's  Foreign  Missionary 
Society;  they  have  150  members,  60  Sunday  school  scholars, 
and  an  Epworth  League  of  20,  and  when  they  get  accustomed 
to  the  collar  they  will  raise  $3,800. 

Look  at  this  city  mission  Church,  where  there  is  no  one 
that  owns  his  home;  eighty -five  per  cent  contributed.  Look 
at  that  other  Church,  in  Denver,  Colo. ;  the  only  thing  that 
Church  had  was  a  deficit  at  the  end  of  the  year.  They  intro- 
duced this  plan,  and  out  of  186  members  they  had  182  con- 
tributing, and,  thirty  days  before  the  year  closed,  all  obliga- 
tions met;  the  whole  congregation  went  on  a  furlough. 
Wouldn't  you  pastors  like  to  belong  to  a  Church  like  that? 

Look  at  this  city  Church,  in  Crawfc~dsville,  Ind. ;  under 
the  old  plan  all  they  did  was  $15,000.  They  made  an  every- 
member  canvass  about  eleven  months  ago,  and  the  number 
of  subscribers  was  doubled  and  the  increase  in  current  ex- 
penses and  benevolences  was  twenty-three  per  cent,  with  ten 

76 


THE  FORCES  AND  THE  FIELD— A  SURVEY. 

times  as  many  envelopes  on  the  plate  on  Sunday  and  attend- 
ance at  all  services  greatly  increased — men  enlisted  who  had 
not  given  a  day's  time  for  a  year.  I  was  in  Crawfordsville 
a  little  while  ago,  and  Mr.  Evans,  who  was  prominent  in  this 
.canvass,  gave  me  this  incident :  When  they  got  through  with 
the  canvass  the  men  were  anxious  to  do  something  else,  and 
they  had  one  part  of  the  committee  write  letters  to  the  shut- 
ins,  and  one  letter  was  written  to  an  old  lady,  the  mother  of  a 
prominent  physician,  and  when  he  met  Mr.  Evans,  he  said, 
"I  thank  you  for  writing  mother,  I  like  what  you  did  for  her; 
she  read  that  letter,  and  wept  over  it." 

Let  us  look  at  a  whole  city.  Look  at  Buffalo;  $36,000 
before  they  introduced  this  plan,  and  they  have  had  $20,000 
gain.  Let  us  have  another  chart.  That  was  a  pertinent  ques- 
tion asked  by  Bishop  McConnell,  "Will  it  do  the  work  the 
second,  the  third,  or  fourth  year?"  It  will  if  you  wind  up 
the  clock,  and  if  you  do  not  it  will  run  down.  We  fail  often 
because  we  think  the  thing  worked  the  first  year,  we  do  not 
need  an  annual  canvass.  Here  is  the  Richmond  Avenue 
Church,  Buffalo,  N.  Y.  Look  at  the  record:  benevolences, 
$3,645;  at  the  end  of  four  years,  $11,400.  Look  at  this  Sara- 
toga District;  out  of  eighty-three  congregations,  sixty-one 
have  adopted  the  new  financial  plan.  That  district  is  solving 
its  problem,  so  is  the  Crawfordsville  District,  and  so  are  many 
others.  I  have  studied  the  drift  and  estimated  our  resources, 
and  I  know  that  the  desired  results  are  ours  for  the  taking. 
Let  us  go  in  and  possess  the  land. 

Leadership  in  Introducing  the  New  Financial  Plan. 
JOHN  LOWE  FORT. 

WHEN  General  Benjamin  F.  Butler  was  governor  of  Massa- 
chusetts, he  was  walking  down  the  street  of  Boston  one  day 
and  was  accosted  by  two  men  who  were  engaged  in  a  very 
heated  discussion.  They  said,  "Governor,  we  are  arguing 
as  to  who  is  the  greatest  lawyer  in  the  State  of  Massachusetts, 

77 


MILITANT  METHODISM. 

and  we  can  not  agree,  but  have  now  agreed  to  leave  the  ques- 
tion to  you;"  and  the  governor  said,  "That  is  easy;  I  am 
the  greatest  lawyer  in  the  State  of  Massachusetts."  One  of 
them  said  to  him,  "That  is  all  right,  but  how  are  you  going 
to  prove  it  ? "  And  great  lawyer  that  he  was,  and  acquainted 
with  the  rules  of  evidence  as  he  was,  he  said,  "You  do  not 
have  to  prove  it;  I  admit  it."  Now,  being  a  district  super- 
intendent, I  admit  that  the  district  superintendency  furnishes 
an  ideal  leadership  for  carrying  out  the  plan  which  has  been 
outlined  this  morning.  I  am  aware  that  when  I  speak  of  the 
district  superintendency  I  touch  upon  a  theme  that  has  its 
sore  spots.  I  hold  in  my  hand  a  clipping  from,  one  of  our 
great  Church  papers.  I  think  I  will  read  briefly  from  this 
so  that  you  will  get  my  angle: 

"My  plan  would  be  to  do  away  forever  with  the  office  of 
district  superintendent.  I  have  for  about  ten  years  sat  in 
Quarterly  Conferences  of  the  Church  I  belong  to,  and  I  make 
this  statement  without  the  least  personal  feeling  against  any 
of  the  men  who  have  held  this  office:  That  is,  that  in  all  of 
these  years  I  have  never  heard  our  district  superintendent 
make  a  single  suggestion  or  help  carry  out  a  single  plan  for 
the  betterment  of  our  Church  in  any  way,  shape,  or  form. 
This  I  can  prove  by  at  least  seventy-five  fellow-members.  He 
simply  comes  in,  asks  some  printed  questions,  sees  the  report, 
gets  his  check,  and  that  ends  it.  What  I  want  to  know  is, 
Why  all  this  unnecessary  expense  without  any  result?  No 
business  house  or  corporation  would  stand  for  it  six  months. ' ' 

I  think  the  brother's  angle  of  vision  is  entirely  warped. 
Pray  God  that  the  district  superintendency  may  not  be  con- 
sidered a  rescue  for  weary  Methodist  preachers  of  indif- 
ferent qualities;  and  if  we  have  reached  that  condition 
already,  then  pray  God  we  may  be  delivered  from  that 
condition!  Being  a  district  superintendent,  I  believe  that 
one  of  the  ten  commandments  applies  to  him  as  to  the  pastor 
and  laymen :  ' '  Six  days  shalt  thou  labor. ' '  There  are  sitting 
in  our  congregations  business  men  who  are  tied  to  their  office 
eight  or  ten  hours  every  day,  and  they  have  very  little  vaca- 

78 


THE  FORCES  AND  THE  FIELD— A  SUflVEY. 

tion.  There  are  laboring  men  who  spend  eight  or  ten  hours 
every  day  in  heavy  toil;  there  are  pastors  who  are  as  inde- 
fatigable as  any  merchant  or  mechanic.  So  also  the  true 
district  superintendent  will  be  as  diligent  as  any  man  in  his 
district.  Now,  if  we  are  in  danger  of  considering  our  district 
superintendency  as  a  sort  of  sinecure,  this  new  financial  plan 
offers  a  means  of  regenerating  the  whole  system,  for  there  is 
in  it  a  job  big  enough  for  any  district  superintendent  in  our 
Church.  It  seems  to  me  that  this  is  one  of  the  principal 
tasks  of  the  district  superintendent  of  to-day,  and  if  I  were 
going  to  put  this  in  operation  on  my  own  district,  I  should 
begin  very  early  in  the  year  and  familiarize  myself  com- 
pletely with  all  the  details  of  this  financial  plan,  and  by  the 
middle  of  the  year  at  least,  I  should,  with  this  in  view,  have 
a  reorganization  in  each  of  the  Quarterly  Conferences  of  the 
district.  That  is  not  so  difficult  a  task  as  may  be  supposed. 
It  is  more  difficult  to  get  it  worked  out  after  it  is  adopted. 
We  have  to  admit  that.  I  know  of  a  district  where  the  finan- 
cial plan  was  adopted  in  forty-three  Quarterly  Conferences, 
and  in  all  of  them  there  were  only  two  dissenting  votes.  The 
laymen  of  our  Church  are  ready  for  this  plan.  And  if  the 
preachers  and  the  district  superintendents  will  do  their  work 
faithfully  and  well,  we  can  revolutionize  the  financial  system 
of  our  Church  in  the  next  five  years. 

After  this  campaign  has  been  introduced,  it  would  seem 
to  me  that  a  simultaneous  movement  should  be  made  through- 
out the  district.  I  believe  that  we  are  connectional  in  our 
principles,  but  we  are  congregational  in  our  practices.  We 
do  not  make  the  best  use  of  our  connectionalisnu  It  seems 
to  me  that  every  district  superintendent  should  set  apart 
one  month  for  an  educational  campaign  after  the  plans  have 
been  adopted.  On  my  district,  for  instance,  this  year  we 
shall  carry  on  our  educational  campaign  in  February.  Every 
pastor  on  my  district  will  be  asked  to  preach  a  sermon  on 
the  first  Sunday  of  February  and  call  the  attention  of  the 
people  to  the  literature  that  has  been  provided.  After  this 

79 


MILITANT  METHODISM. 

careful  campaign,  on  the  first  Thursday  in  March  the  every- 
member  canvass  on  every  charge  on  ray  district  will  be  made. 
JThat  is  my  conception.  It  can  be  done.  I  have  an  idea  that 
the  district  superintendent  might  well  go  to  a  weak  charge, 
where  it  .is  difficult  to  have  this  plan  adopted  and  put  into 
operation,  and  meet  with  the  Finance  Committee  and  the 
solicitors  and  instruct  them  how  to  go  about  their  business, 
and,  if  necessary,  go  with  them  from  house  to  house  to  put 
this  thing  on  a  firm  basis. 

I  simply  want  to  call  your  attention  to  one  thing  not 
touched  on  by  any  speaker,  as  to  the  results  of  this  work  on  a 
given  district.  If  the  district  superintendent  wants  his  pastors 
to  have  the  largest  efficiency  in  their  work,  he  will  spend  a  good 
deal  of  time  in  releasing  them  from  the  depression  of  financial 
necessity.  I  do  not  know  how  it  is  in  the  Church  at  large,  but 
on  my  district  one  pastoral  call  out  of  every  three  is  a  finan- 
cial call.  The  pastor  must  raise  the  district  superintendent's 
claim  often  by  house-to-house  visitation.  And  the  episcopal 
claim  in  the  same  way,  and  the  worn-out  preachers'  fund — 
or  must  supplement  the  public  collection  for  that  purpose. 
He  must  raise  the  benevolences,  and  often  raise  his  own  salary. 
One-third  of  the  pastoral  efficiency  of  our  Church  is  in 
bondage  to  financial  necessity.  It  is  no  wonder  that  in 
many  of  our  great  Conferences  we  have  not  added  members 
for  the  last  twenty  years.  I  was  in  one  of  the  great  Confer- 
ences of  the  Middle  West  recently  and  heard  the  bishop  say 
to  one  of  the  largest  Conferences  of  Methodism,  "You  men 
have  not  succeeded  in  adding  more  than  an  average  of  one 
hundred  and  fifty  members  in  your  great  Conference  in  the 
last  ten  years."  I  believe  that  much  of  this  is  due  to  the 
fact  that  our  ministers  have  to  give  the  time  they  ought  to 
give  to  real  pastoral  service,  to  the  raising  of  budgets.  And 
I  say  to  you,  brethren,  that  if  we  can  eliminate  this  thing 
from  our  Churches  and  free  our  preachers  from  the  bondage 
of  this  financial  burden,  we  shall  set  them  free  to  go  into  the 
field  and  preach  the  gospel  and  minister  to  the  sick  and  talk 

80 


THE  FORCES  AND  THE  FIELD— A  SURVEY. 

to  the  boys  and  girls  about  tbeir  loyalty  to  the  Church  and 
to  Jesus  Christ,  and  to  do  the  work  for  which  the  Christian 
minister  was  ordained — to  teach  and  preach  the  gospel,  and 
visit  from  house  to  house,  as  they  ought  to  be  able  to  do.  I 
believe  that  this  is  the  solution  of  many  of  our  great  problems, 
and  I  pray  God  that  the  time  may  soon  come  when  all  through 
our  Methodism  this,  the  only  financial  plan  now  recognized 
by  the  General  Conference,  shall  be  adopted  and  operated. 

Meeting  the  Demand  of  the  Hour. 
U.  G.  LEAZENBY. 

I  HAVE  been  sitting  here  these  hours  and  my  heart  has  been 
strangely  stirred,  and  yet  again  and  again  I  have  found  my- 
self saying,  "0  Lord,  who  is  sufficient  for  this  task?"  and 
here  is  the  thought  that  discourages  me,  that  this  great  Meth- 
odist Episcopal  Church  with  its  three  and  a  half  million  mem- 
bers has  only  about  one  out  of  every  five  who  is  intelligently 
and  aggressively  interested  in  the  task  of  spreading  the  King- 
dom of  God  to  the  ends  of  the  earth.  How  pitiable  the  con- 
dition of  an  army  in  which  only  one  man  who  took  the  oath 
of  loyalty  to  the  flag  was  ready  to  fight !  Or  worse  than  that, 
if  one  able-bodied  soldier  was  compelled  to  carry  four  other 
able-bodied  soldiers,  to  care  for  them,  and  to  provide  their 
food  and  equipment!  That  is  exactly  the  condition  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church.  How  to  get  these  four  who  are 
not  interested  in  the  task  is,  if  I  understand  it,  the  real  pur- 
pose of  this  Convention. 

In  the  first  place,  let  me  say  that  the  every-member  canvass 
to  which  reference  has  been  made,  and  of  which  specific  illus- 
trations have  been  given,  will  do  the  task  as  certainly  as  I 
hold  up  my  hand  and  declare  that  I  believe  in  God  the  Father 
Almighty,  Maker  of  heaven  and  earth,  and  the  rest  of  the 
Apostles'  Creed.  I  believe  that  this  every-member  canvass, 
if  carried  intelligently  and  prayerfully  to  every  member  of 
the  Church,  will  solve  the  problem.  It  will  solve  the  problem, 
•  81 


MILITANT  METHODISM. 

of  financing  the  Church  at  home,  and  we  will  never  success- 
fully finance  the  Church  away  from  home  until  we  have 
financed  the  Church  at  home.  Financing  the  Church  of  the 
living  God  is  like  the  religious  life :  it  begins  at  home ;  and  I 
repeat  that  our  first  task  is  to  finance  the  Church  at  home. 
That  being  true,  the  every-member  canvass,  introduced  in  a 
district  and  carried  to  the  leaders  of  the  Church  in  the  dis- 
trict, will  accomplish  it,  I  have  no  doubt.  It  will  rehearten 
the  Church.  I  could  stand  here  and  give  illustration  after 
illustration  of  Churches  that  were  disheartened  being  re- 
heartened.  There  are  men  who  are  not  stingy;  they  are  in- 
terested in  the  Kingdom  of  God,  but  they  have  stood  so  long 
under  the  crushing  financial  burden  and  come  up  so  often  at 
the  end  of  the  year  to  meet  the  deficit  for  coal  and  light  and 
other  things,  that  they  have  become  discouraged  and  dis- 
heartened, and  I  say  that  one  of  the  valuable  things  about  this 
plan  is  that  it  reheartens  the  Church.  Then,  it  succeeds  in 
getting  children  into  the  Church.  I  could  tell  you  of  Church 
after  Church  in  the  district  where  I  am  superintendent  where 
that  thing  has  been  proved.  Now,  gentlemen,  I  want  to  say 
that  this  will  do  the  task,  provided  it  has  a  fair  test.  Here  is 
the  question,  and  I  tremble  lest  we  may  go  home  from  this 
great  Convention  with  our  hearts  stirred  with  enthusiasm 
and  yet,  because  our  hands  have  not  been  strengthened,  prac- 
tically forgetting  this  Convention  as  we  have  forgotten  many 
others.  Something  practical  is  the  thing  we  need  in  this 
practical  age  of  ours.  District  superintendents,  pastors,  and 
laymen  will  go  away  from  this  Convention  taking  one  of 
three  attitudes  toward  this  great  plan. 

The  first  attitude  is  that  of  opposition.  I  have  met  just  a 
few  who  have  opposed  the  plan.  If  a  man  coolly  and  delib- 
erately, if  an  institution  or  an  organization  cold-bloodedly  lies 
down  before  the  chariot  of  progress,  then  it  becomes  a  ques- 
tion of  stopping  the  chariot  or  running  over  the  individual 
and  breaking  his  bones,  and  in  that  event  I  think  we  had 

82 


THE  FORCES  AND  THE  FIELD— A  SURVEY. 

better  run  over  him  as  gently  as  possible.  If  he  is  not 
too  old,  the  bones  will  knit  and  he  may  walk  all  right 
afterwards. 

Then,  the  next  possible  attitude  is  one  of  indifference,  and 
that  I  fear — just  letting  this  new  financial  plan  alone.  It  is 
a  tragedy,  it  is  an  awful  thing  to  be  on  the  wrong  side  o*f  a 
right  issue.  I  take  my  hat  off  to  the  memory  of  Robert  E. 
Lee  for  many  things,  but  unfortunately  that  great  heart  was 
on  the  wrong  side  of  a  right  issue. 

I  think. of  two  other  men;  one  was  neutral  concerning  the 
great  question  of  right  and,  wrong.  He  said :  ' '  Let  it  be  voted 
up  or  let  it  be  voted  down."  But  God  had  brought  from  the 
Kentucky  hills  a  man  who  was  born  almost  as  poor  as  the  Son 
of  Mary,  who  was  strong  enough  to  be  on  the  right  side  of  a 
right  issue.  Here  is  a  right  issue.  Let  us  be  on  the  right  side. 

DILLON  BRONSON. 

JESUS  said,  "When  you  give  a  dinner,  do  not  invite  your  rich 
friends  or  relatives  or  those  who  can  return  the  invitation, 
but  call  in  the  homesick,  the  friendless,  and  the  stranger," 
and  this  commandment  we  seem  to  have  overlooked.  I  desire 
this  morning  to  help  you  use  the  lower  part  of  your  bifocal 
lenses  to  study  for  a  moment  the  matchless  opportunity  of 
the  hour  right  here  on  our  doorstep.  I  yield  to  no  man  in  my 
enthusiasm  for  what  we  call  foreign  mission  work.  I  have 
made  three  journeys  to  the  Orient,  and  have  seen  as  much 
of  the  non-Christian  world  as  any  man  in  our  denomination. 
My  ambition  now  is  to  make  another  three  years'  tour  of  the 
fields  across  the  sea  and  to  return  the  best-informed  man 
on  this  work  in  the  Church.  However,  we  must  admit 
that  the  great  emergency  is  here  at  home,  and  in  many 
respects  America  is  now  the  banner  mission  field  of  the 
world.  Some  one  has  said  that  sif  we  could  make  New 
York  City  completely  Christian  from  center  to  circumfer- 
ence, it  would  do  more  for  the  furtherance  of  the  Kingdom 

83 


MILITANT  METHODISM. 

throughout  the  whole  earth  than  if  we  sent  every  pastor  in 
America  to  the  foreign  field.  A  few  days  ago  we  read  in 
the  papers  that  a  desperate  effort  to  make  Confucianism  the 
State  religion  in  China  is  being  fathered  by  a  gentleman  who 
obtained  his  degree  of  Ph.  D.  in  Columbia  University.  If 
New  York  had  been  a  Christian  city  while  this  young  man 
was  a  student  there,  he  would  certainly  not  now  be  engaged 
in  furthering  Confucianism.  The  gathering  of  the  nations 
on  our  shores  is  providential,  a  direct  answer  of  God  to  the 
slowness  of  the  Church  in  responding  to  the  twelfth  command- 
ment, "Go  make  disciples  of  all  nations."  If  we  give  these 
new  Americans  absent  treatment  only  and  have  no  relation 
to  them  except  the  financial  nexus,  often  pampering  them  by 
paying  their  bills,  the  Republic  and  the  Kingdom  will  surely 
suffer. 

Not  long  ago  I  congratulated  one  of  our  pastors  on  the 
fact  that  so  many  Poles,  intelligent  men  from  the  land  of 
Chopin,  Copernicus,  and  Paderewski,  lived  about  his  Church. 
"Now,"  I  said,  "get  them  into  your  vestry;  give  them  lessons 
in  English  and  American  history,  and  gradually  lead  them 
to  see  what  Protestantism  means."  With  a  sad  look  on  his 
face,  he  answered,  "I  hate  all  those  foreigners,  and  am  only 
waiting  for  an  opportunity  to  move  my  family  from  that 
neighborhood."  Of  course,  he  only  needed  to  close  his  eyes 
to  be  dead.  The  Church  he  served  was  dead,  and  ought  to 
have  been  covered  up  in  order  not  to  be  an  offense  to  the  com- 
munity. Here  are  these  people,  who  are  American  by  choice 
and  not  by  accident,  coming  to  us  out  of  every  tribe  and 
tongue  and  kindred,  one  hundred  at  least  every  hour,  day  and 
night,  reproducing  themselves  about  seventeen  times  as  fast 
as  native  Americans ;  and  we  need  them,  because  they  are  not 
afraid  to  work.  Without  them  and  their  spades  the  industries 
of  the  land  would  surely  languish.  What  we  need  is  honest, 
industrious  men  who  are  willing  to  do  the  most  disagreeable 
kind  of  work.  They  are  not  the  scum  of  Europe.  They 
are  not  common  or  unclean.  But  are  virile  men  in  the  years 

84 


THE  FORCES  AND  THE  FIELD— A  SURVEY. 

of  greatest  efficiency  and  the  enormous  expense  of  rearing 
them  from  infancy  has  been  met  by  other  peoples.  If  they 
are  ignorant  as  far  as  books  are  concerned,  they  are  am- 
bitious that  their  boys  learn  to  read  and  write  and  make  good. 
Green  foreigners  they  may  be,  but  not  so  dangerous  as  some 
overripe  Americans.  When  they  degenerate  and  become 
drunkards  and  libertines,  it  is  because  of  our  neglect — because 
they  are  herded  together  like  cattle  where  saloons  are  more 
numerous  than  drygoods  and  provision  stores;  where  they 
do  not  get  the  English  language,  which  they  m!ust  have  to 
win  their  way,  and  where  the  children,  living  in  an  atmosphere 
of  American  irreverence,  soon  learn  to  despise  the  "old  man" 
and  the  "old  woman." 

These  people  need  friendliness,  neighborliness ;  they  need 
assistance  in  finding  decent  places  in  which  to  live.  They  need 
to  be  encouraged  to  buy  a  little  land,  or  a  share  or  two  in 
some  good  industrial  corporation,  for  there  is  no  other  such 
cure  for  anarchistic  notions.  They  must  know  English,  and 
learn  the  things  for  which  our  Government  stands.  And 
must  be  told  the  real  meaning  of  the  Christian  Church,  which 
is  the  ' '  union  of  all  who  love  in  the  service  of  all  who  suffer. ' ' 
We  have  not  dealt  with  the  foreign-born  as  with  the  horae- 
born.  We  have  often  exploited  and  robbed  them,  and  nearly 
always  neglected  them.  We  have  too  often  attempted  to 
proselyte  these  people  directly.  We  have  gone  at  them  ham- 
mer and  tongs  to  win  members  for  a  Methodist  Statistical 
Church.  They  need  friendship.  And  if  we  show  by  our  dis- 
interested service  that  our  religion  is  better  than  theirs,  they 
will  be  won  in  due  time.  It  would  be  better  for  many  of 
us  to  have  a  degree  of  F.  S. — Friend  of  the  Stranger — than 
D.  D.  If  we  are  to  be  the  salt  of  the  earth,  we  must  be  rubbed 
in  where  the  corruption  is.  We  are  of  no  use  while  snugly 
barreled.  The  hope  of  the  Republic  is  in  righteousness  rubbed 
into  the  life  of  common  people  everywhere.  What  shall  it 
profit  Methodism  or  any  other  ism  if  we  gain  our  own  puny 
little  soul  and  lose  the  whole  world  ? 

85 


MILITANT  METHODISM. 

FRANK  C.  EVANS. 

I  HAVE  been  asked  to  tell  you  not  how  to  do  it,  but  how  we 
did  it,  and  the  only  excuse  I  offer  for  talking  about  ourselves 
is  to  present  to  you  a  concrete  case  and  not  a  theory,  and 
to  prove  to  you  and  to  stand  before  you  as  a  witness  that  the 
every-member  canvass  will  do  the  job. 

In  putting  the  every-member  canvass  on  in  the  First  Meth- 
odist Episcopal  Church  of  Crawfordsville,  we  first  took  it  up 
with  our  Financial  Board  and  got  their  complete  endorsement, 
and  they  appointed  a  committee  of  five  to  have  complete 
charge  of  the  every-member  canvass  in  every  detail.  We 
first  inaugurated  a  campaign  of  education  covering  fully  a 
month.  Each  Sunday  we  had  appropriate  addresses  from.1  the 
pulpit  by  laymen  and  our  pastor,  winding  up  on  the  last  Sun- 
day before  the  canvass  with  a  sermon  on  stewardship.  We 
decided  in  our  Board  meeting  that  we  would  make  this  canvass 
in  one  day.  We  would  not  let  the  question  of  finances  be 
dragged  along  throughout  the  entire  year  and  spread  its  pall 
over  our  Church  operations.  It  may  not  be  practical  to  do 
the  task  in  many  Churches  in  one  day,  but  I  undertake  to 
say  that  in  ninety  Churches  out  of  a  hundred  it  can  be  done 
more  successfully  in  one  than  in  any  other  given  number  of 
days.  The  enthusiasm  engendered  by  getting  a  large  body  of 
men  to  work  at  one  given  task  at  one  given  time  has  more 
power  than  anything  else  you  can  do. 

Now,  we  decided  to  make  this  campaign  with  fifteen  teams 
of  four  men  each,  selecting  the  real  leader  as  captain  of  each 
team.  We  did  not  need  sixty  m'en  to  make  this  canvass,  but 
sixty  men  needed  to  make  the  canvass.  In  this  way  we  en- 
listed the  co-operation  of  men  whom  we  could  not  have 
gotten  into  the  Church  work  in  any  other  way  or  through  any 
other  door;  and  when  that  day's  work  was  over,  we  had  dis- 
covered leaders  and  developed  men  that  we  did  not  dream  we 
had.  They  are  some  of  the  best  and  most  stalwart  men  in 
our  congregation  to-day. 

86 


THE  FORCES  AND  THE  FIELD— A  SURVEY. 

Now  listen,  men.  We  did  not  go  at  this  thing  with  any 
brass  band  or  trumpets,  or  anything  of  that  kind,  but  we 
went  at  it  just  as  you  laymen  go  at  your  business  affairs. 
We  took  from  a  list  from  our  official  records  the  name  of 
every  member  of  our  Church  of  school  age,  and  the  greatest 
trouble  we  had  was  to  keep  from  overlooking  somebody.  We 
took  that  member's  name  and  from  the  Church  treasurer's 
record  made  up  a  card  index  of  every  member  of  our  con- 
gregation. On  that  card  index  we  put  the  name  of  the  mem- 
ber, his  street  address,  what  he  gave  last  year,  both  for  current 
and  benevolent  expense,  and  what  the  committee  thought  he 
ought  to  give  this  year.  That  index  was  an  information  card. 
Now,  these  fifteen  captains  were  coached  to  the  last  minute 
as  to  how  this  campaign  was  to  be  made.  It  was  not  a  financial 
campaign.  It  developed  in  the  end  that  the  finances  were 
really  a  by-product  of  the  campaign.  The  real  campaign  was 
stirring  up  and  revitalizing  the  men  who  had  long  been  dor- 
mant in  Church  work;  and  through  this  campaign  they  were 
stirred  up  until  to-day  they  are  the  very  strongest  and  best 
men  we  have  to  lean  on  in  our  congregation. 

ROBERT  E.  JONES. 

IT  is  not  a  financial  program  or  scheme  that  we  need  so  much 
as  a  conviction  of  the  need  and  a  sense  of  our  personal  obli- 
gation, with  emphasis  on  personal.  It  is  not  method  we  need, 
but  motive.  Men  do  not  so  much  give  by  plan  as  by  con- 
viction. 

If  we  faced  the  task  before  us  with  the  consciousness  that 
we  are  His  and  with  the  acknowledgment  that  what  we  have 
is  His — that  what  we  have  is  His,  whether  little  or  much — we 
would  not  need  a  Board  to  discover  wealth  and  to  blast  it 
from  our  pockets  by  the  latest  methods  and  schemes,  but  our 
Board  would  become  a  Board  of  experts  for  spending  the 
funds  in  hand  the  best  possible  way.  As  it  is  now,  half  of  our 
energy  is  consumed  in  raising  funds.  If  the  men  in  Meth- 
odism would  give  to  God  one-tenth  of  their  earnings,  which 

87 


MILITANT  METHODISM. 

is  His  and  not  our  own,  we  could  underwrite  in  five  years 
every  pressing  need  of  world-wide  Methodism.  Approved 
business  methods  in  our  financial  plan,  and  the  zeal  of  a  life 
insurance  agent  in  pushing  the  plan. 

An  Advocate  in  every  home  to  inform  our  membership  on 
the  world-wide  program,  of  the  Church,  the  inviting  doors 
that  are  open,  and  the  marvelous  results  considering  our  re- 
sources. 

Take  home  the  inspiration  and  the  information  of  this 
Convention. 

Consecration :  not  an  utter  self-abandonment  in  fatal  hope- 
lessness, but  a  complete  surrender  to  Him  to  be  of  the  largest 
possible  service,  as  He  may  direct. 

"Our  wills  are  ours,  we  know  not  how; 
Our  wills  are  ours,  to  make  them  Thine." 

On  our  knees  we  should  get  a  new  conception  of  Christ's 
plan  for  the  salvation  of  the  world.  The  Lord  Christ,  nine- 
teen hundred  years  after  He  completed  the  plan  in  detail  for 
the  world 's  redemption,  sits  sad-hearted  as  we  go  slowly  about 
the  task  of  the  world's  redemption.  In  prayer  and  supplica- 
tion we  should  approach  the  throne  of  God  in  the  interest 
of  the  great  task  that  is  before  us.  The  physician  of  Tuske- 
gee  Institute,  driving  out  one  afternoon  in  his  machine,  took 
up  in  his  car  an  old  colored  lady  and  said  to  her,  "Mother, 
are  you  praying  for  me?"  She  responded,  "Lord,  child, 
I  can  not  pray  for  myself  unless  I  pray  for  you."  So  it  is 
— we  can  not  pray  aright  unless  we  pray  for  the  other  man. 
It  is  not  by  our  might,  but  by  His  spirit  that  our  opportuni- 
ties will  be  met. 

Go  up  and  possess  the  land,  for  we  are  able. 

S.  R.  SMITH. 

MEN  of  Methodism,  I  come  as  a  layman  to  talk  especially  to 
laymen.  What  I  have  to  say,  I  think,  will  have  the  hearty 
co-operation  of  the  ministers  and  the  bishops.  You  have  had 

88 


THE  FORCES  AND  THE  FIELD— A  SURVEY. 

line  upon  line,  precept  upon  precept.  You  hardly  know  where 
to  begin.  Let  me  say  this  one  thing:  Go  home  and  tell  how 
Christ  was  with  you  here  in  this  great  gathering  in  Indian- 
apolis; how  you  heard  more  than  two  thousand  men,  full  of 
the  Holy  Spirit,  upon  their  feet  singing: 

"All  hail  the  power  of  Jesus'  name, 

Let  angels  prostrate  fall; 
Bring  forth  the  royal  diadem, 
And  crown  Him,  crown  Him,  crown  Him. 
Lord  of  all." 

As  I  heard  that  sung  a  year  and  a  half  ago  by  that  great 
assembly  in  Minneapolis,  I  felt  that  I  must  give  all  that 
was  in  me  to  carry  His  message.  How  shall  you  do  it  ?  When 
you  go  home,  bring  out  a  surprise  prayer-meeting  for  your 
pastor.  He  will  welcome  it.  One  man  on  the  telephone  fifteen 
minutes  will  increase  your  membership  at  that  meeting  per- 
haps fifteen  per  cent.  Four  men  on  the  telephone  for  half  an 
hour  will  double  your  meeting,  and  you  will  have  a  grand  time 
and  the  Spirit  of  God  will  be  in  that  meeting.  I  know  it 
because  I  have  tried  it.  I  know  that  then  you  will  think  upon 
these  precepts  and  these  examples  that  you  have  had  here 
over  and  over,  and  the  every-m'ember  canvass  will  be  set  up. 
Then  you  will  reach  your  Church  membership.  Then  you 
will  come  across  that  blessed  experience  that  I  had  in  getting 
acquainted  with  the  members  of  our  Church.  I  said  to  a  man : 
"We  want  you.  What  will  you  give  for  foreign  missions?" 
He  said, ' '  Here  is  $5. "  "  How  much  will  you  give  per  week  ? ' ' 
"Five  dollars."  I  said,  "No,  my  brother,  we  want  you  to 
bring  ten  cents  a  week.  We  want  you.  The  money  is  good, 
but  we  want  you."  I  tell  you,  men,  the  every-member  can- 
vass will  lead  you  to  a  house-to-house  canvass,  and  you  will 
think  of  these  words,  "God  so  loved  the  world  that  He  gave 
His  only  begotten  Son,  that  whosoever  believeth  in  Him  might 
not  perish  but  have  everlasting  life."  Friend,  that  is  in  your 
heart.  You  are  thinking  of  that  everlasting  life.  Don't 

89 


MILITANT  METHODISM. 

forget  the  commandment,  "Love  the  Lord  thy  God  with  all 
thy  heart  and  soul  and  mind  and  strength,  and  thy  neighbor 
as  thyself."  We  want  this  work  among  the  men  of  the 
Church  to  get  the  neighbors  in  to  enjoy  the  blessed  spirit  of 
the  Holy  Ghost  as  we  enjoy  it.  and  remember  that  Christ 
died  for  us. 

0.  F.  HYPES. 

IN  the  little  Methodist  Church  in  the  Ohio  city  where  I  am  a 
member,  out  of  something  more  than  two  hundred  members 
who  gave  to  the  various  benevolent  enterprises  of  the  Church, 
seventy-seven  gave  the  same  or  more  than  they  gave  to  them- 
selves. This  was  brought  about  by  prayer  and  personal  pre- 
sentation, and  the  work  is  only  begun.  The  pastor  of  that 
Church,  when  he  receives  the  apportionments  handed  down 
by  the  Commission  on  Finance,  hangs  them  up,  I  think,  in  his 
study,  and  his  goal  and  the  goal  of  his  Church  is  the  standard 
adopted  by  the  General  Conference  at  Baltimore. 

Let  me  call  your  attention  to  a  booklet  which  I  have  been 
reading,  "The  Methodist  Man's  Burden,"  by  Dr.  Brewster. 
It  is  a  message  which  I  believe  every  man  in  this  Convention 
should  read  while  he  is  here,  with  the  thought  that  it  will 
possibly  be  of  service  in  solving  the  problems  which  we  have 
come  here  to  help  solve.  In  another  Church  that  has  been 
struggling  along  twenty-five  years  under  a  great  debt,  by 
means  of  the  every-member  canvass  and  weekly  giving  and 
the  duplex  system,  that  debt  was  soon  wiped  out,  and  Bishop 
Anderson  came  up  and  burned  the  old  Church  mortgage  and 
gave  that  Church  a  commission  for  deeds  of  larger  usefulness, 
so  that  pastor  goes  to  Conference  with  all  benevolences  on 
the  up-grade. 

In  adopting  this  new  financial  system,  has  it  ever  occurred 
to  you  that  we  are  after  all  in  that  system  just  getting  back 
to  Wesley?  You  know  what  he  said  in  his  rules  given  to 
those  united  societies,  "All  at  it,  always  at  it,  altogether  at 
it."  "All  at  it,"  the  every-member  canvass;  "always  at  it," 

90 


THE  FORCES  AND  THE  FIELD— A  SURVEY. 

every  week;  "altogether  at  it,"  the  benefits  that  come  from 
the  united  effort.  After  all,  in  my  humble  opinion,  no  plan 
will  of  necessity  long  succeed  that  has  not  for  its  controlling 
theme  and  purpose  the  love  of  God  dwelling  fully  in  our 
hearts  and  in  the  hearts  of  our  fellow-men.  After  working 
at  all  the  material  plans  presented,  we  must  look  to  Him  who 
controls  the  thoughts  and  purposes  of  men  and  ask  Him  not 
only  for  the  gifts,  but  ask  Him  for  ourselves.  Methodism 
so  attuned  will  not  only  make  America  Christian  in  fact,  but 
it  will  send  the  message  around  the  world. 

JOHN  T.  STONE. 

IT  is  my  great  joy  to  be  a  member  of  a  down-town  Church 
with  all  the  problems  that  distinctively  characterize  such  a 
congregation.  The  Church  to  which  I  belong  is  within  one 
block  of  a  brewery,  which  occupies  a  very  large  block  of 
ground,  and  it  has  slopped  over  into  the  adjoining  block,  but 
we  are  hoping  in  Baltimore  to  slop  the  whole  thing  over 
pretty  soon.  Within  two  blocks  there  are  several  acres  of 
ground  occupied  by  railroad  tracks,  with  the  accompanying 
factories  and  warehouses.  Within  another  block  there  is  city 
market,  and  for  four  blocks  we  have  on  both  sides  of  the  street 
a  congregation  of  saloons,  pawnshops,  and  other  places  such 
as  you  would  find  in  that  kind  of  a  neighborhood.  All  around 
the  church  there  are  colonies  of  Negroes,  Jews,  Italians,  and 
other  foreigners.  In  that  great  area  which  I  have  thus  briefly 
described  this  is  the  only  Protestant  Church.  Other  Methodist 
Churches  existed  in  the  years  gone  by,  scattered  here  and 
there.  They  have  closed  up.  This  old  church,  which  is  eighty 
years  old,  is  still  there;  and,  please  God,  she  will  always  be 
there.  Years  ago  when  I  was  converted  at  that  altar,  that 
church  was  the  center  of  the  parish.  For  blocks  around,  al- 
most every  house  was  occupied  by  a  Methodist  family  attend- 
ing that  Church.  Now  all  is  changed.  What  has  kept  the 
old  Church  alive?  As  the  years  have  passed  and  the  people 
have  died  off  or  moved  away,  the  congregation  has  dwindled 

91 


MILITANT  METHODISM. 

and  dwindled ;  but  the  Sunday  school  has  kept  going,  and  it 
is  the  missionary  spirit  that  has  kept  the  Sunday  school  alive. 
In  that  Sunday  school  every  child  has  been  taught  to  give, 
and  to  give  systematically.  The  monthly  missionary  meeting 
has  never  been  abandoned.  A  whole  Sunday  afternoon  once 
a  month  is  given  to  it,  and  as  these  children  have  grown  up 
they  have  formed  the  old  guards,  sons  and  daughters  of  the 
old  families  who  have  kept  the  Church  alive.  Until  1910  the 
Church  was  so  frequently  considered  as  a  hopeless  proposi- 
tion that  now  and  then  a  suggestion  was  made  for  selling; 
but  yet  the  Sunday  school  held  on,  and  the  children  held  on, 
and  the  missionary  spirit  held  on.  In  1910  this  every-member 
campaign, was  taken  up,  and  we  called  the  Official  Board  to- 
gether and  said :  ' '  Here  is  hope  for  our  Church ;  let  us  adopt 
this  plan ;  let  us  go  through  our  membership,  distant  as  that 
membership  is,  and  let  us  rally  them  around  the  old  Church. ' ' 
That  was  the  beginning.  There  were  old  ladies  living  at  a 
long  distance  from  our  church  who  rarely  came  to  service, 
and  it  was  pathetic  but  beautiful  to  see  how  they  welcomed 
our  official  men,  going  out  two  by  two.  Sometimes  they  said : 
"The  pastor  came  once  in  a  while;  we  know  he  has  a  great 
many  people  to  care  for,  but  in  all  the  years  you  men  are  the 
only  ones  who  have  come  to  see  me." 

Now,  what  is  the  result  financially  ?  I  wish  I  had  time  to 
tell  the  whole  story.  To  me  it  is  one  of  the  great  stories  of 
my  life.  Briefly:  In  the  three  years  that  have  elapsed  our 
budget  has  increased  for  current  expenses,  our  minister's 
salary  has  increased,  and  our  Sunday  school  has  grown  until 
it  is  almost  overflowing.  It  is  a  problem  where  to  house  the 
children.  Our  Church  membership  has  grown  from  two  hun- 
dred to  three  hundred  and  thirty-five — two  hundred  and 
thirty-five  contributing,  and  there  is  a  revival  going  on  now, 
and  I  almost  wish  I  were  there  instead  of  here. 


92 


THE  FORCES  AND  THE  FIELD— A  SURVEY. 

ALEXANDER  BENNETT. 

THE  story  I  shall  attempt  to  tell  you  is  no  miracle,  nor  any- 
thing that  we  can  boast  about.  In  the  State  of  Nebraska, 
out  on  the  prairies,  one  hundred  miles  west  of  Omaha,  there 
is  a  little  city  named  York — some  seven  thousand  people. 
Six  years  ago  Bishop  McDowell  appointed  me  to  the  pas- 
torate. On  the  field  I  discovered  a  well-organized  Church, 
fine  property,  and  a  membership  of  eight  hundred.  Why 
I  should  be  sent  there  began  to  be  a  question  to  my  soul,  but, 
looking  over  the  whole  field,  it  became  a  conviction  that  maybe 
these  good  people  needed  a  vision  of  the  whole  world.  The 
Lord  helped  me  to  get  the  vision  on  their  hearts  somewhat, 
and  the  result  is  something  like  this:  the  first  year  I  chal- 
lenged our  good  people  to  contribute  a  full,  round  one  thou- 
sand dollars  for  home  and  foreign  missions.  The  year  before 
they  had  given  slightly  less  than  eight  hundred  dollars,  meet- 
ing in  full  their  apportionment  as  they  had  met  all  their 
benevolent  apportionments  faithfully  for  many  years.  They 
accepted  the  challenge  and  paid  it.  The  second  year,  I  said, 
Ct  Brethren,  let  us  take  a  missionary,  a  single  man  somewhere, 
and  contribute  seven  hundred  and  fifty  dollars  for  foreign 
missions."  They  said,  "All  right,"  and  so  we  took  a  man 
in  West  China.  We  found  he  was  a  married  man  at  the  end 
of  the  year,  so  it  would  require  about  $950  to  support  him 
that  year.  The  third  year  we  did  it.  The  fourth  year  we  found 
a  man  in  India  whose  support  was  rather  precarious,  and  we 
contributed,  in  addition  to  China,  five  hundred  dollars  for 
the  support  of  an  Indian  missionary.  The  fifth  year  the 
Woman's  Foreign  Missionary  Society  thought  they  ought  to 
have  something  doing,  and  they  undertook  the  full  support 
of  a  medical  missionary  in  China.  By  the  end  of  the  fifth 
year  they  thought  I  had  a  missionary  up  my  sleeve  every 
time  I  came  home  from  anywhere.  Brethren,  the  third  year 
before  the  last  we  endeavored  to  cultivate  among  our  people 
giving  by  the  double  envelopes,  iust  asking  them  to  use  them, 

93 


MILITANT  METHODISM. 

if  you  please,  without  any  more  systematic  form  than  our 
regular  apportionment  to  members.  They  began  to  use  them. 
At  the  end  of  the  fifth  year  they  let  me  go.  But  the  question 
arising,  What  shall  we  do  about  all  these  missionaries  and 
all  this  business  we  have?  it  was  solved  by  the  double  en- 
velope. We  had  a  plan  made  for  an  every-member  canvass 
just  before  my  removal,  and  it  was  thoroughly  worked.  And 
this  year  the  new  pastor  has  undertaken  it,  and  two  weeks  ago 
a  thorough  canvass  was  made;  forty  men  went  throughout 
the  Church  membership,  and  came  home  shouting  victory. 
That  is  what  the  daily  papers  told  me  when  I  read  them  down 
in  Kansas. 

And  so  this  business  works.  It  will  work  in  Kansas;  we 
are  at  it  now.  I  believe  it  will  work  anywhere,  although,  of 
course,  Kansas  will  set  the  pace  if  you  will  give  us  a  chance. 

THOMAS  LIPPY. 

I  COME  from  a  modest  Church  in  the  modest  city  of  Seattle. 
I  want  to  account  for  this  modesty  in  our  Pacific  Northwest. 
We  have  a  great  number  of  real  estate  men,  a  great  number 
of  other  business  and  professional  men,  largely  immigrated 
from  the  East  to  our  Pacific  Northwest.  And  you  know 
that  all  that  Northwest  country  is  made  up  of  the  fellows  of 
push  and  energy  and  modesty  from  the  East.  I  was  given 
a  subject,  and  tried  to  prepare  something  along  that  line. 
Last  night  I  was  asked  to  tell  you  what  we  were  doing  and 
how  we  were  doing  it  in  the  Northwest,  changing  my  line  of 
thought,  because  I  was  not  going  to  speak  of  our  modest 
Church  in  Seattle  or  of  other  things  along  that  line,  but  I 
may  give  you  before  I  close  just  a  few  thoughts  along  the 
first  subject.  Our  Church  has  a  membership,  as  represented 
in  September,  of  2,040  members.  I  want  just  to  say  this, 
that  under  a  number  of  pastors,  one  following  another — splen- 
did pastors — the  Church  has  increased  and  grown  and  is  a 
strong  Church  and  is  being  better  organized  every  day  for 
real,  definite  work.  We  have  all  the  usual  organizations,  and 

94 


THE  FORCES  AND  THE  FIELD— A  SURVEY. 

I  think  all  of  them,  are  doing  good  work,  a  splendid  work. 
You  are  more  especially  interested  here  this  morning  in 
the  report  along  missionary  and  financial  lines.  I  want  to 
give  you  briefly  what  we  are  doing  along  the  missionary  line. 
Our  Woman's  Foreign  Missionary  Society,  in  addition  to  its 
usual  work,  has  a  representative  in  the  field.  The  Church 
has  a  missionary  pastor.  In  addition  to  this,  supported  either 
by  the  Church  or  by  individuals,  are  fourteen  workers  along 
distinctive  lines.  There  are  nine  students  being  supported 
in  the  Pekin  University.  And  mark  this :  one  of  those  Chinese 
students  in  the  University  of  Pekin  is  supported  by  a  Japanese 
class  in  our  Seattle  Sabbath  school. 

Now,  along  financial  lines,  we  early  adopted  the  duplex 
envelope  system.  It  has  proven  a  great  success  with  us.  Back 
of  the  duplex  envelope  system  we  have  had  for  a  number  of 
years  a  splendid  financial  secretary,  an  enthusiastic  tither, 
a  woman  of  rare  tact  and  deep  spiritual  life,  who  has  been 
doing  our  individual  or  personal  canvass  through  the  Church 
largely.  The  result  has  been,  up  to  the  present  year,  about 
sixty-five  per  cent  of  our  total  membership  of  2,040 — that  is, 
between  twelve  and  thirteen  hundred  members — giving  weekly 
through  this  duplex  envelope  system.  Our  benevolences  have 
increased  about  thirty-three  per  cent  in  the  last  two  years. 
I  would  like  to  tell  you  a  lot  more  along  these  lines.  Just 
before  I  left  for  this  Convention,  the  stewards  of  the  Church 
were  called  together  and  decided  to  make  a  definite  member- 
to-member  canvass. 

W.  F.  WHELAN. 

WHEN  the  Laymen's  Missionary  Movement  began  its  opera- 
tions in  the  United  States,  Buffalo  was  chosen  as  its  first  city. 
When  the  inspirational  addresses  had  been  made  and  the 
leaders  left  us,  we  were  without  a  program,  but  upon  us 
was  laid  this  thought,  that  if  Buffalo  fell  down  the  Lord's 
work  in  other  places  might  be  impeded,  so  it  was  our  privilege 
to  lead  the  cities  of  the  United  States.  The  first  thing  we 

95 


MILITANT  METHODISM. 

did  in  every  committee  meeting  we  had,  whether  held  in  one 
of  the  city  clubs  or  churches,  whether  two  men  or  a  dozen 
were  present,  from  the  time  of  the  inception  of  the  Laymen's 
Missionary  Movement  to  the  last  meeting,  we  have  never  con- 
ducted one  thing  without  surcharging  every  one  of  our  meet- 
ings with  vital  prayer.  If  my  time  does  not  permit  me  to 
say  anything  else,  let  me  say  that  if  we  are  going  to  do  the 
Lord's  work,  we  must  do  it  in  the  Lord's  way  or  we  won't 
do  it  at  all.  We  next  took  as  a  text  that  whatever  the  Churches 
had  been  giving  for  themselves  and  whatever  for  the  work  in 
this  country  and  whatever  for  work  in  other  countries,  now 
we  would  ask  our  Churches  to  come  up  to  the  goal.  We 
went  to  our  Churches,  Church  by  Church,  and  asked  the 
leading  men  to  adopt  this  resolution:  "Realizing  the  privi- 
lege of  sharing  in  the  evangelization  of  the  world  in  this 
generation,  we  place  as  our  goal,  As  much  for  others  as 
for  ourselves" — mark  you,  goal,  not  pledge — "and  we 
pledge  thereto  our  selves,  our  money,  and  our  prayers," 
and  as  a  result  the  Lord  led  the  Methodist  Churches 
of  Buffalo,  which  had  raised  $7,000  for  Foreign  Missions 
the  year  before,  to  raise  $17,000  the  next  year.  Brethren, 
you  saw  up  here  on  the  canvas  a  part  of  my  speech — that 
Richmond  Avenue  Church,  which  had  been  giving  $1,100  for 
Foreign  Missions,  went  to  $5,000,  then  to  $5,500  and  to  $6,200 
— but  Dr.  Trimble  should  have  told  you  what  it  cost  our  other 
Church  finances  to  give  so  much  money  to  Foreign  Missions : 
we  had  a  small  parsonage  when  we  started,  and  we  have  a 
$10,000  one  now;  we  did  not  have  the  right  kind  of  a  Sunday 
school  room,  and  we  have  an  $11,000  one  now;  we  had  a 
$40,000  mortgage,  but,  praise  God,  it  is  all  underwritten  now. 
Men  of  Methodism,  if  you  want  to  get  rid  of  that  load,  get 
an  objective  big  enough  and  you  will  lift  it. 

Let  me  speak  of  two  things.  0 !  in  the  name  of  Christ, 
do  not  let  us  try  to  use  any  sort  of  plan  or  scheme  unless 
with  consecration  and  prayer  to  Him  that  we  do  His  work  in 
His  way.  In  the  next  place,  do  not  leave  this  Convention 

96 


THE  FORCES  AND  THE  FIELD— A  SURVEY. 

to  go  out  to  raise  money,  but  leave  this  Convention  and  go 
out  to  get  your  man ;  your  money  will  fade  away,  but  a  man 
well  secured  repeats  himself  over  and  over  again;  and  this 
new  financial  scheme,  if  you  will  adopt  it  and  prosecute  it  in 
His  name,  must  succeed. 

D.  D.  FORSYTH. 

WHEN  we  began  to  exploit  this  new  financial  plan  and  seek 
its  introduction  into  the  local  Churches,  I  heard  it  said  on 
every  hand,  "That  plan  is  all  right  enough  for  some  Churches, 
but  it  will  not  work  in  ours."  The  men  in  Trinity  Church, 
a  metropolitan  Church,  said,  "It  is  all  right  in  Grand  Avenue, 
but  we  fellows  can't  fiddle  around  with  that  sort  of  business;" 
and  so  I  made  it  my  business  early  in  the  game  to  try  out  the 
system  in  typical  Churches,  taking  a  suburban  Church,  a 
mission  Church,  and  a  rich  Church,  and  trying  it  out  in  all 
of  them,  and  I  have  been  asked  to  tell  you  how  it  worked  in 
the  three  kinds  of  Churches.  I  went  first  to  a  suburban 
Church,  having  about  180  members,  a  small  number  of  poor 
people — farmers — having  moved  into  that  section.  Every 
time  I  went  to  that  Quarterly  Conference  in  the  first  year 
of  my  work  in  Denver,  it  was  a  regular  tragedy  to  me.  There 
was  no  financial  system.  There  was  a  deficit  in  every  account, 
absolutely  every  account;  the  pastor  never  paid — a  small 
salary — never  got  it;  janitor  not  paid;  light  bill  not  paid. 
It  was  a  very  discouraging  situation.  We  had  one  fine  old 
gentleman  who  used  to  get  indignant,  and  finally  one  day  he 
got  up  and  resigned  from  office  in  the  Church.  He  said  it 
was  an  outrage.  We  prayed  with  him  and  let  him  pay  the 
deficit,  and  he  took  his  office  back  again  at  the  end  of  the 
year.  There  were  $800  in  deficits  in  different  accounts.  This 
thing  is  all  over.  They  have  worked  up  a  decent  system  on 
which  to  do  business,  and  introduced  it  into  this  Church. 
The  Finance  Committee  told  me  that  all  but  three  members 
made  contributions  systematically,  and  the  pastor  was  paid 
every  month  and  they  made  remittances  every  month  to  the 
7  97 


MILITANT  METHODISM. 

various  Boards.  The  district  superintendent  was  paid  every 
month,  and  the  month  before  Conference  everything  was  met. 
Now,  under  the  old  system  the  average  sum  of  the  collections 
was  eight  or  ten  dollars  a  Sunday.  I  am  here  to  say  that 
during  the  two  years  of  the  new  plan — I  was  in  that  Church 
four  mjonths  after  Conference  last  year — and  they  had  an 
average  sum  of  $100  a  Sunday,  everybody  contributing  an 
average  quota  of  twenty-five  to  thirty  to  fifty  cents,  the  mem- 
bership all  in  the  game.  It  has  revolutionized  that  Church. 
Three  years  ago  when  I  went  there,  all  they  talked  about 
was  deficits;  they  would  get  mad  and  discouraged.  Now  the 
Finance  Committee  of  that  Church  is  just  an  incident.  Now 
they  talk  about  revivals  and  the  upward,  forward  movement 
of  the  Sunday  school  and  the  betterment  of  the  neighborhood, 
and  the  whole  program  of  the  Kingdom  of  God  is  upon  their 
hearts. 

I  tried  it  out  in  a  mission  Church,  where  not  a  single 
member  owned  their  homes,  and  we  had  an  educational  cam- 
paign so  that  the  whole  Church  was  on  tiptoe  with  enthusiasm 
and  everybody  wanted  to  co-operate.  We  went  out  and  made 
a  canvass,  and  eighty  per  cent  of  that  membership  made  con- 
tributions. The  pastor  said  that  he  got  twice  as  much  salary 
as  he  ever  got  before,  and  twice  as  much  for  benevolences. 
It  has  revolutionized  that  mission. 

Then  I  tried  it  .out  in  a  metropolitan  Church — Trinity 
Church.  The  officials  came  to  me  and  said,  "In  God's  name, 
come  and  introduce  some  system  to  take  care  of  our  finances ! ' ' 
We  went  and  introduced  this  system,  and  spent  a  month  of 
education,  every  Sunday,  every  Epworth  League  meeting, 
every  woman's  meeting,  and  so  on.  Sixty  men  in  eight  hours 
canvassed  the  whole  Church.  Up  to  that  time,  out  of  eleven 
hundred  members,  one  hundred  and  ten  were  the  total  number 
of  subscribers  to  benevolences,  and  we  multiplied  it  by  four 
and  one-half. 

[At  this  point  Bishop  Wilson  offered  the  prayer  found  on  page  52.  Read 
it  again,  and  reverently,  in  the  light  of  the  foregoing  addresses. — EDS.] 

98 


II.    WHAT  OTHER  DENOMINATIONS  HAVE 

DONE. 


Southern  Presbyterian  Church. 
G.  A.  ROWLAND. 

THE  General  Assembly  of  the  Presbyterian  Church,  our  high- 
est governing  body,  is  responsible  for  giving  the  gospel  to 
twenty-five  million  in  non-Christian  lands.  I  desire  this  after- 
noon, as  has  been  indicated,  to  simply  bring  to  you  some  of  the 
facts  in  regard  to  this  work  and  let  you  see  how  God  has 
wrought  among  our  denomination.  In  no  sense  do  we  wish 
to  boast  about  what  our  communion  has  done,  but  simply  tell 
you  in  order  that  it  may  suggest  to  you  some  of  the  ways 
by  which,  perhaps,  God  can  use  you  in  your  Churches  in 
bringing  your  people  up  to  a  greater  measure  of  their  re- 
sponsibility. 

One  of  the  very  first  things,  or  rather  one  of  the  recent 
things  that  has  helped  our  denomination  to  keep  steadily  at 
the  task  has  been  the  fact  that  it  assumed,  along  with  other 
denominations,  a  definite  portion  of  the  non-Christian  world. 
While  this  is  very  simple,  at  the  same  time  it  has  proven  a 
great  stimulant  to  our  people  and  lias  enabled  them  to  take 
hold  in  a  very  real  and  definite  way.  It  has  enabled  us  to 
present  to  our  Presbyteries  and  individual  Churches  their 
pro  rata  responsibility  in  this  task.  A  still  greater  benefit 
is  to  keep  the  tremendous  magnitude  of  this  task  before  our 
people,  and  especially  tefore  our  laymen,  and  it  has  brought 
them  to  see  more  and  more  that  they  have  a  real  share  in 
this  and  a  responsibility  which  they  must  personally  dis- 
charge. 

I  have  here  one  or  two  charts  which  I  want  to  speak  from 

99 


MILITANT  METHODISM. 

briefly.  This  first  chart  gives  you  the  world's  field  of  the 
Southern  Presbyterian  Church.  We  have  here  clearly  before 
us  that  for  which  we  are  responsible.  We  are  responsible  for 
five  hundred  thousand  in  Cuba,  five  hundred  thousand  in 
Mexico,  a  million  in  Africa,  four  million  in  Korea,  four  mil- 
lion in  Japan,  and  twelve  million  in  China.  In  a  moment  our 
people  can  see  exactly  what  is  to  be  done  and  determine  the 
part  they  wish  in  it.  But  I  am  not  to  speak  of  all  these  fields, 
but  will  take  up  Korea,  to  show  you  how  we  have  concretely 
taken  one  field.  The  pink  part  gives  you  the  sphere  assigned 
to  the  Southern  Presbyterian  Church  in  Korea.  We  are  glad 
to  tell  you  that  Korea  was  the  first  field  of  our  missions  to 
send  back  to  our  Church  a  definite  statement  as  to  what  was 
required  in  men  and  missions  to  evangelize  our  share  of  Korea, 
and  when  the  call  came,  the  laymen  took  it  up,  and  after  a 
vigorous  campaign  they  secured  sufficient  funds  to  enable 
our  Board  to  notify  the  Korean  Mission  that  they  were  ready 
to  supply  the  equipment.  A  returned  missionary  went 
through  our  denomination  and  secured  sufficient  to  supply 
Korea  with  seventy-six  missionaries  and  an  equipment  suf- 
ficient for  our  Church  to  evangelize  her  share  of  Korea.  When 
recently  we  got  out  a  pamphlet  calling  for  a  million  dollars 
to  equip  our  other  fields,  one  of  the  most  striking  things  in 
it  that  helped  us  to  carry  on  the  work  was  the  statement, 
"Korea  supplied." 

Let  us  come  to  another  field,  Africa,  and  I  will  merely 
give  you  some  things  that  have  stimulated  our  men  and  en- 
abled us  to  present  this  work  in  a  concrete  way.  We  have 
gone  up  in  the  Belgium  Congo  twelve  hundred  miles  from 
the  coast,  and  this  red  spot  represents  the  Presbyterian  sphere 
of  influence,  the  territory  assigned  our  Church,  and  we  are 
endeavoring  there  to  meet  our  responsibilities.  Only  last 
summer  we  sent  twelve  missionaries  on  one  ship  from  Phila- 
delphia :  I  am  sorry  I  have  not  the  time  to  tell  you  the  story 
of  how  those  twelve  men  were  secured.  A  missionary  came 
back  and  went  to  our  seminaries  and  made  a  pathetic  appeal 

100 


THE  FORCES  AND  THE  FIELD— A  SURVEY. 

to  men  to  volunteer;  and  at  a  convention  in  Chattanooga,  a 
year  and  a  half  ago,  the  laymen  took  up  the  challenge  and  the 
money  was  secured  then  and  there.  To-day  we  have  almost 
supplied  Africa  with  forces.  That  green  adjoining  is  for  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  South,  and  I  will  show  you  how 
thoroughly  we  are  co-operating  with  your  people  in  the  South. 
We  have  arranged  to  co-operate  in  every  possible  detail.  For 
instance,  we  have  a  boat  on  the  Congo  River  that  takes  our 
men  up  and  down  the  Congo  and  carries  supplies;  we  have 
arranged  to  do  all  the  transporting  for  your  people ;  they,  in 
turn,  have  put  a  smaller  boat  on  this  river,  which  is  to  be  the 
dividing  line,  and  they  in  turn  will  likewise  transport  our 
supplies  and  our  men  to  this  extreme  point  of  our  territory. 
Bishop  Lambuth  is  en  route  to  Africa,  carrying  his  quota 
of  missionaries,  and  he  is  planning  to  stop  at  our  central 
station  for  six  months  with  his  missionaries,  and  they  will 
be  the  guests  of  our  missionaries  while  learning  the  language, 
the  language  happening  to  be  the  same.  The  other  day  we 
issued  a  call  for  a  printer.  We  searched  everywhere  for  a 
printer,  but  could  not  find  the  man.  Bishop  Lambuth  came 
to  our  Board  meeting,  and  he  said :  "I  understand  you  want 
a  printer;  we  have  a  man  whom  we  have  been  training  in 
our  Methodist  Training  School  for  the  last  three  years;  you 
may  have  him;"  and  he  turned  over  to  us  that  young  man, 
and  to-day  he  is  on  the  way  to  Africa  to  fill  the  important 
position  of  printer  to  our  mission.  It  is  these  things  that 
make  the  foreign  missionary  enterprise  appeal  to  our  men, 
when  they  see  that  the  Churches  are  united  in  a  business- 
like way. 

I  did  not  take  the  time  on  that  first  chart  to  indicate  to  you 
that  each  one  of  those  blocks  represents  a  parish  of  twenty- 
five  thousand.  We  consider  that  we  have  one  thousand 
parishes  to  supply  with  missionaries,  and  that  gives  us  our 
million  of  responsibility.  This  chart  indicates  that  we  have 
three  hundred  and  forty  missionaries  from  our  Church,  and 
the  forty  circles  indicate  that  we  have  forty  men  and  women 

101 


MILITANT  METHODISM. 

ready  to  go.  Our  record  has  always  kept  pace  with  the  de- 
mand for  men.  In  time  we  hope  to  supply  the  full  thousand. 

Here  is  a  chart  that  will  indicate  the  progress  made  in 
the  past  two  decades.  In  1893  our  receipts  were  $134,000, 
and  the  missionaries  on  the  field  were  one  hundred  and  six. 
Going  to  the  next  decade,  1903,  the  receipts  increased  $180,000 
and  the  missionaries  to  one  hundred  and  seventy-four,  and 
this  past  year  our  receipts  increased  to  $631,000  and  our -mis- 
sionaries to  three  hundred  and  forty. 

This  rising  tide  of  missionary  interest  has  not  come  by 
accident,  nor  in  any  haphazard  manner,  but  it  is  due  largely 
to  the  fact  that  we  have  definitely  cultivated  our  Church  and 
tried  to  bring  to  our  people  the  real  issues  involved.  Our 
first  great  advance  was  made  after  we  adopted  what  we  called 
our  forward  movement  or  special  support  plan.  When  we  of- 
fered to  individuals  and  to  individual  Churches  the  support 
of  a  missionary,  it  met  with  a  most  generous  response  and  our 
receipts  immediately  increased.  This  was  on  the  basis  of 
a  salary  of  $500,  but  our  assembly  has  changed  that  to  full 
support^  so  that  no  missionary  can  be  supported  except  on 
$1,200,  and  this  is  bringing  the  Churches  up  to  $1,200  where 
in  the  past  they  were  only  contributing  $500.  The  next  step 
that  has  contributed  to  the  advance  has  been  the  holding  of 
conventions  similar  to  this,  the  bringing  to  the  men  of  the 
Church  the  vision,  and  it  has  led  many  men  to  go  back  and 
revolutionize  their  own  lives  and  to  revolutionize  the  lives  of 
their  Churches.  I  wish  I  had  time  to  tell  you  a  number  of 
things  that  followed  from  those  conventions.  I  remember 
the  first  gift  of  $10,000  which  was  made  for  missions;  it  was 
so  unusual  it  seemed  like  a  thunderbolt.  While  we  have  not 
as  many  $10,000  gifts  as  we  want,  it  is  no  unusual  thhig.  Only 
this  summer  I  had  $10,000  given  me  for  the  work  in  Africa 
for  an  industrial  school.  In  connection  with  Korea,  I  must 
tell  you  of  one  man  who  is  supporting  an  entire  mission  sta- 
tion. When  the  thing  was  first  put  up  to  him  he  said  he 
could  not  undertake  it ;  but  after  thinking  it  over  a  day  or 

102 


THE  FORCES  AND  THE  FIELD— A  SURVEY. 

two  he  decided  he  would,  and  he  has  assumed  the  entire  sup- 
port of  that  station.  We  sent  out  eleven  missionaries,  and 
he  took  them  all.  Two  more  were  needed  this  year,  and  he 
said,  "Certainly,  I  will  supply  any  number  needed  for  that 
station."  To-day  we  count  on  him  absolutely  for  one  of 
those  stations  in  Korea.  And  so  more  and  more  we  are  en- 
deavoring to  bring  individually  to  men  of  means  this  great 
work.  We  feel  that  they  must  not  be  satisfied  and  must  not 
content  themselves  with  a  bare  contribution  to  this  great  cause 
through  their  local  Church ;  that  many  of  our  men  have  the 
means  and  should  be  given  a  share  in  the  work  similar  to 
what  I  have  indicated  is  being  done  by  this  man  supporting 
this  entire  station.  A  friend  of  mine  spoke  the  other  day  to 
a  very  large  business  man  in  his  community  and  said,  "Are 
you  going  to  the  Laymen's  convention  of  your  denomina- 
tion?" He  replied,  ''No,  I  am  not  going;  my  business  will 
not  allow  me."  "Why?"  my  friend  said  to  him.  "When 
did  your  business  get  to  be  your  boss?"  He  had  never 
thought  of  that.  He  said  he  had  never  dreamed  that  his 
business  was  his  boss  until  it  was  thus  put  up  'to  him. 
Many  of  us  men  do  not  realize  that  our  business  is  our 
boss.  The  business  man  who  is  unable  to  see  anything 
but  business  in  business  will  earn  for  himself  the  epitaph 
placed  upon  the  tomb  of  a  cynical  Frenchman  at  his  own 
direction:  "Born  a  man,  died  a  grocer."  So  we  go  back  to 
the  proposition  that  this  missionary  enterprise  is  to  prevent 
that  catastrophe  to  many  a  business  man.  Surely  of  all  things 
it  should  appeal  to  men.  Up  to  1880  the  graduates  of  Yale 
and  Harvard  very  largely  went  into  what  we  call  the  learned 
professions:  the  ministry,  the  law,  and  medicine.  But  since 
that  time  the  majority  of  these  men  are  seeking  a  business 
career.  We  know  that  the  missionary  enterprise  appeals  to 
college  men  when  it  is  properly  presented.  And  this  great 
army  of  men  in  business  to-day  can  be  reached  by  this  same 
enterprise  when  the  appeal  is  properly  made;  but  I  believe 
the  time  has  come  when  we  should  press  it  upon  them.  It 

103 


MILITANT  METHODISM. 

is  the  one  thing,  as  I  have  said  before,  that  1  believe  will 
save  many  a  man.  And  men,  listen !  When  we  are  able  to  take 
our  business  and  give  it  its  highest  motive,  the  motive  of 
service,  we  will  then  get  from  our  business  that  sense  of  satis- 
faction which  we  can  not  secure  in  any  other  way.  When  men 
are  able  to  say  to  you  this,  "1  am  working  hard  this  year 
because  I  expect  to  put  fifty  thousand  dollars  in  our  work 
in  China,"  and  when  a  man  tells  you,  "I  am  sticking  close  to 
business  this  year  because  I  mean  to  build  a  mission  hospi- 
tal," then  you  may  be  sure  that  that  man  is  getting  satis- 
faction out  of  life.  And  so  the  Laymen's  Movement  for  the 
coming  year  expects  to  bring  this  message  to  the  men  of  our 
denomination,  and  why  should  we  not,  here  and  now,  make 
this  a  message  to  ourselves  as  well  as  carry  it  back  as  a  mes- 
sage to  our  comrades  at  home? 

The  Disciples  of  Christ. 
A.  B.  CORY. 

FRIENDS,  it  is  my  pleasure  to  bring  to  you  the  greetings  of 
a  committee  which  I  have  just  been  attending,  representing 
all  our  missionary  organizations  and  all  of  our  colleges.  That 
committee  by  formal  vote  asked  me  to  bear  their  greetings  to 
you  and  assure  you  that  during  the  days  of  this  convention 
their  prayers  would  be  with  you. 

It  is  difficult  always  to  talk  about  ourselves.  It  is  difficult 
always  to  bring  a  message  about  something  which  you  have 
had  a  part  in.  But  I  want  every  man  in  this  presence  this 
afternoon  to  know  that  in  bringing  this  message  of  the 
achievements  of  the  Disciples  of  Christ,  there  is  not  a  single 
word  of  praise  for  ourselves,  because  every  man  who  has  had 
anything  to  do  with  this  movement  which  I  am  recounting  to 
you  realizes  this  fact,  that  we  are  telling  the  story  of  God's 
movement  in  our  midst,  and  that  whatever  has  been  done  has 
not  been  done  because  of  us,  but  rather  in  spite  of  some  of  us. 
As  your  chairman  has  said,  it  has  been  my  privilege  for  a 

104 


THE  FORCES  AND  THE  FIELD— A  SURVEY. 

number  of  years  to  work  in  China.  I  am  not  going  to  bring 
you  a  message  of  the  world's  need  after  the  great  messages 
you  have  had  in  the  last  twenty-four  hours.  The  world  is 
challenging  as  it  has  never  challenged  before.  And  some  one 
has  said,  the  world  runs  liquid  at  this  hour,  and  it  is  ready 
for  the  molding  of  our  God  and  of  His  Christ. 

It  is  now  some  three  years  ago  since  one  of  our  missionaries 
was  taken  sick  in  China  with  typhoid  fever.  I  have  never 
been  able  to  decide  in  my  own  mind  whether  God  made  that 
man  sick  or  not.  I  will  leave  that  to  the  theologians  this 
afternoon,  but  at  any  rate  God  used  that  man's  illness  in 
China,  and  this  man,  when  he  was  finding  his  way  back  to 
a  long  convalescence,  thought  over  a  number  of  things  in  his 
mind ;  he  had  the  burden  of  China  on  his  heart  and  the  need 
of  our  missions  there,  which  had  been  very  great  indeed.  I 
remember  one  day  when  I  went  in  to  this  man,  and  he  looked 
up  at  me,  calling  me  familiarly  by  my  tirst  name,  and  said: 
"Abe,  I  want  to  say  something  to  you.  We  have  been  getting 
about  eight  thousand  dollars  a  year  for  buildings  in  China 
for  the  last  number  of  years.  In  the  next  five  years  we  must 
have  forty  thousand  dollars  every  year,  or  two  hundred  thou- 
sand dollars  for  buildings."  I  remember  I  looked  at  him  and 
said,  "Huh,"  and  he  said  it  over  again.  My  thought  was 
that  the  typhoid  fever  had  gone  to  his  head,  and  I  went  out 
of  the  room  and  said  to  Mrs.  Cory,  ' '  Do  you  know  the  typhoid 
fever  has  gone  to  Alex's  head,  and  do  you  know  what  he  is 
talking  about?"  She  said,  "No;  what  is  he  talking  about?" 
I  said,  "He  says  we  must  have  two  hundred  thousand  dollars 
for  buildings  alone  in  the  next  five  years  in  Central  China." 
She  said,  "I  don't  see  anything  wrong  with  that."  I  looked 
down  at  her,  and  I  said,  "Well,  what  's  the  matter  with  you?" 
Do  you  know  that  man  there  in  his  room  on  his  back  took  it 
up  with  our  missionaries  in  China  and  talked  it  to  everybody 
in  China  whom  he  could  reach,  and  converted  everybody  ex- 
cept me?  But  1  kept  looking  very  wise  and  saying,  "Oh,  no, 
we  must  not  go  too  fast:  we  must  be  wise;  we  must  consider 

105 


MILITANT  METHODISM. 

everything  that  enters  into  it."  That  is  the  way  the  devil 
gets  a  man.  If  he  can  not  get  him  any  other  way,  he 
makes  him  conservative  on  a  great  movement.  So  that  was 
the  way  with  me.  He  had  me  pulling  back,  and  I  could  pull 
back  harder  than  twenty-five  men  could  pull  forward;  but 
God  was  in  it.  I  have  a  high-sounding  title  in  China,  called 
the  dean  of  a  Bible  school,  and  I  have  been  working  in  a  col- 
lege about  as  good  as  the  average  garage  in  America.  I  am  not 
kicking  on  the  garage,  but  on  the  college.  One  night  a  woman 
wrote  me,  "Mr.  Cory,  I  have  decided  to  give  you  six  thousand 
dollars  for  the  building  of  a  Bible  college."  This  man  who 
had  been  ill  was  convalescing  .at  the  time.  You  can  not  know 
the  joy  that  was  in  my  heart  when  I  read  that  word.  I  just 
ripped  open  the  front  door  and  went  upstairs  four  steps  at  a 
time,  and  when  I  got  up  there  I  showed  the  letter  to  this  man. 
He  said  to  me,  as  he  looked  at  it  with  tears  standing  on  his 
cheeks,  "This  is  of  God."  When  I  found  that  God  was  in 
the  game  I  got  into  it  too.  But  we  were  not  right  yet.  The 
mission  seemed  to  think  that  was  a  stupendous  task.  We  were 
driven  to  our  knees  every  day.  For  four  weeks  we  went 
down  on  our  knees  in  prayer,  and  whatever  I  shall  recount 
to  you  as  having  happened  after  that  has  been  absolutely  be- 
cause of  the  power  of  prayer.  Time  went  on  and  one  of  our 
secretaries  came  around  the  world,  and  we  put  up  this  $200,- 
000  story  to  him,  and  he  looked  at  us  very  wise  and  said: 
"Men,  I  have  been  thinking  for  a  long  time  that  there  was 
something  wrong  with  you  fellows.  I  know  what  it  is  now: 
you  are  going  crazy."  Three  days  later  that  secretary  came 
to  us  in  a  little  town  in  China  and  said,  "Men,  I  can't  eat 
and  I  can 't  sleep  for  that  crazy  idea  of  yours ;  talk  to  me  some 
more  about  it."  We  poured  out  our  heart's  story  to  him,  and 
he  said:  "It  is  a  great  idea.  There  is  only  one  thing  the 
matter  with  it,  and  that  is  that  it  is  for  China.  What  about 
India ;  what  about  Japan ;  what  about  the  islands  of  the  sea  ? ' ' 
He  wakened  me  up  in  the  night  and  said:  "What  we  have 
got  to  do  is  to  pool  our  interests  and  raise  a  great  sum  of 

106 


THE  FORCES  AND  THE  FIELD— A  SURVEY. 

money.  It  would  take  one-half  million  dollars."  He  said: 
"It  is  of  God.  Let  us  go  out  and  do  it."  We  decided  to  go 
out  for  half  a  million  dollars,  and  out  there  in  China  that 
seemed  to  be  a  pretty  big  sum  of  money.  I  was  asked  to  lead 
in  the  enterprise,  to  come  home  and  raise  that  amount  of  a 
half-million  dollars.  I  went  to  the  Philippines;  I  went  to 
Japan;  I  went  to  the  other  fields  preparing  for  the  task;  but 
the  missionaries  said  to  me,  "Mr.  Cory,  you  must  make  it  more 
than  a  half-million."  I  said,  "No;  that  is  all  you  are  going 
to  get. ' '  And  then  I  came  home,  friends,  and  began  to  study 
methods  and  consulted  Mr.  Mount  on  their  great  campaign. 
I  had  heard  what  the  Canadians  had  done  in  raising  money 
for  their  home  and  foreign  missions.  They  told  me  up  there 
I  must  make  it  a  million  dollars.  I  said,  "You  don't  know 
our  folks;  they  haven't  got  a  million  dollars  to  put  in  there." 
And  so  I  went  to  tell  the  story  of  half  a  million  dollars.  I 
went  to  two  business  men  in  New  York,  and  the  first  thing 
they  said  was  that  it  did  not  strike  them.  I  said  to  them, 
' '  Don 't  you  believe  in  doing  a  great  thing  for  God  1 "  "  Yes. ' ' 
They  said,  "But  that  is  just  what  you  are  not  doing." 
Then  one  said,  "I  will  give  you  $200  for  half  a  million, 
and  $1,000  on  the  million."  The  other  said,  "I  will  give 
$300  on  a  half  a  million  and  $1,000  on  a  million."  I  said, 
"I  don't  believe  we  can  do  it."  I  met  a  man  in  Iowa 
working  on  a  salary,  not  a  rich  man  in  the  ordinary  sense 
of  the  term.  This  man  said  to  me  in  some  surprise,  "What 
are  you  doing  at  home?"  I  told  him  the  half-million  story. 
I  never  said  a  word  about  the  million  dollars.  With  a  good 
deal  of  energy  he  said,  "I  won't  give  you  a  cent  on  it." 
He  said:  "You  are  not  talking  the  language  of  this  age; 
this  is  a  million-dollar  age.  I  will  give  you  a  thousand 
dollars  on  a  million."  I  scratched  my  head  and  said, 
"Maybe  it  will  be  a  million  dollars;  I  don't  know."  So 
I  went  out  and  asked  a  hundred  business  men  and  a  hun- 
dred preachers  of  our  Church  this  question,  "Shall  we  make 
it  a  million  dollars  or  keep  it  a  half  million  ? ' '  Every  one  of 

107 


MILITANT  METHODISM. 

our  preachers  said  keep  it  half  a  million,  and  every  one  of  the 
business  men  said  make  it  a  million.  Now  men,  I  just  want 
in  a  brief  word  to  tell  you  how  this  task  was  accomplished. 
Back  of  it  has  been  the  mighty  power  of  prayer.  We  have 
kept  our  methods  subject  to  change  like  a  railroad  company's 
time-table,  depending  upon  the  Word  of  God  and  the  power 
of  God.  A  little  over  a  year  ago  we  went  out  after  that 
million  dollars,  and  I  am  happy  to  say  that  within  the  next 
five  years  more  than  one  million  dollars  have  been  assured. 

You  want  to  know  some  of  the  things  that  have  been  ac- 
complished. I  went  into  the  office  of  a  business  man  in  the 
State  of  New  York,  and  when  I  wanted  to  talk  to  him  I  stood 
before  him  and  he  did  not  even  ask  me  to  'sit  down,  and  so 
I  started  in  and  talked  right  in  that  fellow's  face  for  ten 
minutes,  and  he  said,  "You  are  in  a  hurry,"  and  I  said, 
' '  It  is  you  who  are  in  a  hurry, ' '  and  he  said,  ' '  Come  into  my 
inner  office  and  let  us  bow  in  prayer. ' '  Men,  dozens  of  times 
in  the  great  offices  of  railway  men  and  of  bankers  and  cor- 
poration lawyers  I  have  gone  down  on  my  knees  in  prayer 
with  them  and  never  once  at  my  request.  I  have  come  to 
this  belief  to-day,  that  men  want  to  hear  God  talked  about 
in  a  man's  way.  People  say  to  me,  "How  do  you  get  at 
these  people?"  We  do  not  get  at  them;  we  let  God  do  it. 
I  want  to  put  that  to  you  again  and  again,  and  not  in  any 
pietistic  way.  We  went  into  one  town  and  had  a  little  supper 
with  the  people.  One  man  got  up  and  said,  "I  move  that 
this  town  raise  $5,000  for  this  movement."  (Afterward  the 
town  raised  $25,000.)  When  we  were  going  out  of  that  build- 
ing that  night,  a  little  woman  met  me  and  said,  "You  ought 
to  be  ashamed  of  yourself,  asking  this  town  for  $5,000."  I 
went  home  wondering  if  we  had  asked  too  much  and  were 
going  to  put  the  people  to  the  poor-house.  I  was  a  little  sur- 
prised the  next  morning  when  that  woman  called  me  up  on 
the  telephone  and  said,  "I  want  you  to  come  and  see  me." 
I  went,  and  she  said,  "Mr.  Cory,  I  am  going  to  give  you  $500. 

108 


THE  FORCES  AND  THE  FIELD— A  SURVEY. 

t 

I  have  not  slept  very  much,  and  I  am  going  to  make  that 
much  of  a  contribution."  I  thanked  her,  and  asked  if  she 
wanted  to  sign.  She  said,  "No,  1  may  change  my  mind." 
I  did  not  ask  her  further.  That  afternoon  I  got  a  note  to 
coine  and  see  her.  When  I  went  into  her  presence,  she  said, 
' '  I  have  changed  my  mind. ' '  I  said,  ' '  Why  are  you  not  going 
to  give?"  She  replied:  "Who  said  I  am  not  going  to  give? 
I  am  going  to  give  you  $1,000."  I  never  said  a  word  to  her 
about  signing.  When  you  get  a  woman  going  in  that  direc- 
tion, let  her  go.  I  was  not  at  all  surprised  the  next  morning 
when  the  telephone  bell  rang  again,  for  I  knew  she  was  on  the 
other  end  of  the  line.  She  said,  "Come  over  here."  I  went  as 
quickly  as  I  could.  When  I  went  into  the  presence  of  that 
woman. I  felt  I  was  going  into  the  presence  of  an  angel.  Her 
face  was  radiant  with  the  presence  of  God.  She  said:  "For 
two  nights  I  have  been  in  prayer.  My  husband  was  a  doctor. 
I  want  to  build  a  hospital  on  the  banks  of  the  mighty  Congo 
that  will  bear  his  name."  I  could  tell  you  of  dozens  of  people 
who  with  the  power  of  God  working  on  their  hearts  have 
been  led  to  do  great  things.  In  no  public  meeting  have  we 
asked  for  money,  and  seldom  in  a  private  meeting.  We  have 
had  but  one  theme,  the  power  of  God  in  the  world. 

You  know  when  a  man  is  doing  a  great  task  a  good  many 
temptations  come  to  him.  When  we  got  to  the  half-million 
dollars  the  temptation  was  to  stop  for  a  while.  But  I  went 
into  a  business  man's  office  in  Oklahoma  City,  and  on  hi» 
office  door  was  this  motto,  "The  man  who  stops  on  third  base 
to  congratulate  himself  never  makes  a  home  run."  We  never 
stopped,  but  went  on  and  went  on  until  the  task  was  com- 
pleted. But  as  it  was  nearing  completion,  I  thought  we  were 
going  to  stop  at  the  million  dollars.  I  felt  like  saying,  ' '  Lord, 
let  Thy  servant  depart  in  peace."  That  was  the  only  thought 
in  my  mind.  But  down  in  a  banquet  in  Southern  California  a 
man  got  up  and  said,  "I  will  be  one  of  one  hundred  men  to 
give  another  million,"  and  he  launched  at  that  moment  uu- 

109 


MILITANT  METHODISM. 

other  million  dollar  campaign.  That  million  dollar  campaign 
carried  with  it  a  thousand  workers  for  America,  and  it  went 
to  $2,500,000. 

A  quiet,  conservative  business  man  asked  me,  ' '  Are  our  col- 
leges included?"  I  said,  "We  can  not  include  them;  this  is 
just  the  missionary  task."  He  said,  "It  seems  to  me  that  edu- 
cation and  missions  ought  to  be  linked  up  in  some'  way."  I 
went  to  my  room,  but  not  to  sleep,  and  all  that  Saturday 
night  I  battled  with  that  question.  Fifty  times  I  decided 
to  ask  him  for  a  million  dollars,  and  then  I  said,  "No." 
The  next  morning,  after  a  great  prayer-meeting  in  the  early 
hours  of  the  morning,  at  which  he  was  present,  I  decided 
not  to  do  it;  but  somehow  it  was  impressed  upon  me  to  ask 
him  for  a  million  dollars.  I  went  to  him  and  I  said  in  a 
quivering  voice,  "After  an  all  night  of  prayer,  God  has  laid 
it  upon  my  heart  to  ask  you  to  give  one  million  dollars  and 
unite  our  colleges  and  missionary  enterp rises. "  He  reached 
out  his  hand  and  said,  "Say  no  more;  I  will  not  say  'Yea,' 
and  I  will  not  say  'Nay,'  but  I  will  answer  you  in  thirty 
days."  I  came  from  him  a  day  or  two  ago  and  he  has  said 
that  if  our  Church  will  raise  $5,000,000  he  will  give  $1,000,000 
in  the  next  five  years.  The  impression  upon  my  heart  when 
he  made  that  statement  was,  "Be  still  and  know  that  I  am 
God."  A  great  many  men  have  given  sums  like  that  in  their 
wills,  when  they  could  use  it  no  longer.  I  believe  that  God 
is  using  that  man  to  challenge  the  whole  Kingdom  of  God  to 
do  great  things  for  Him. 

There  are  a  multitude  of  things  that  I  would  like  to  say 
to  you.  I  would  like  to  tell  you  about  the  campaign  for  one 
thousand  men.  I  will  tell  you  this  one  story.  A  Methodist 
woman  in  Los  Angeles  telephoned  me  to  come  and  see  her. 
When  I  went,  she  said,  "I  am  going  to  send  my  daughter 
to  China."  I  said,  "I  would  like  to  meet  her."  She  came  in, 
a  beautiful  girl,  a  graduate  from  one  of  the  great  colleges 
of  America.  I  asked  her  age.  She  was  twenty-three.  I  turned 
'  to  her  mother  and  I  said,  ' '  How  long  have  you  had  it  in  your 

110 


THE  FORCES  AND  THE  FIELD— A  SURVEY. 

heart  that  this  daughter  should  go  to  China?"  Looking  me 
squarely  in  the  face,  she  said,  "For  nearly  twenty-four  years; 
from  the  time  that  girl  was,  she  belonged  to  China."  God 
is  challenging  us  from  the  very  hour  of  their  being  to  give 
our  children  to  the  world  task.  Do  you  ask  me  about 
the  influence  of  this  world-movement  on  our  Church  ?  I  want 
to  say  that  money  is  the  least  of  all.  It  has  united  our  Church, 
and  the  Church  can  never  be  united  by  doctrine  or  theology, 
but  only  by  a  great  task  for  God.  It  has  united  us  in  a 
mighty  movement  of  prayer.  We  shall  fail  if  we  go  out  to 
get  five  or  six  million  dollars  unless  we  have  created  a  great 
wave  of  spirituality  in  the  Church. 

Men  of  God,  I  ask  you  to-day,  as  we  go  to  this  greater 
task,  that  you  will  unite  your  prayers  with  ours,  and  I  can 
assure  you  that  our  prayers  wjll  be  united  with  yours  and 
we  shall  all  go  forward,  taking  this  world  for  God  and  His 
Christ. 

The  United  Presbyterian  Church. 

J.  CAMPBELL  WHITE. 

YOUR  Program  Committee  has  asked  me  to  speak  about  the 
development  of  the  missionary  interests  in  the  United  Pres- 
byterian Church.  First  of  all,  I  want  to  supplement  what  my 
friend  Rowland  has  said  about  the  Southern  Presbyterian 
Church.  He  did  not  tell  you  that  they  have  only  three  hun- 
dred thousand  members.  It  occurred  to  me  while  he  was  speak- 
ing that  that  was  just  a  tithe  of  your  white  membership  in  this 
country — about  three  millions.  Now,  will  you  keep  your  mind 
on  these  figures?  That  Church  gave  last  year  six  hundred 
and  thirty-one  thousand  dollars  to  foreign  missions.  Multiply 
that  by  ten  and  see  where  you  are.  Six  million  three  hun- 
dred and  ten  thousand  dollars  to  foreign  missions  from  the 
Methodist  Church,  if  you  do  what  should  be  done.  Three 
hundred  and  forty  foreign  missionaries.  Multiply  that  by  ten 
and  get  your  proportion,  and  you  would  have  thirty-four 

111 


MILITANT  METHODISM. 

hundred  against  your  eleven  hundred.  You  can  do  that,  and 
if  you  are  going  to  reach  one  hundred  and  fifty  millions  of 
people  in  the  non-Christian  world,  while  the  Southern  Pres- 
byterian Church  reaches  their  twenty-five  million,  you  will 
have  to  do  something  like  that.  There  is  no  use  in  talking 
about  reaching  one  hundred  and  fifty  millions  of  people  with 
the  gospel  on  the  paltry  sum  of  two  or  three  million  dollars 
a  year.  You  can  not  do  it. 

And  then,  I  want  to  say  that  Rowland  himself  is  the  chief 
human  agency  through  which  God  has  operated  in  bringing 
that  Church  up  to  that  point.  I  have  known  the  Church  in- 
timately'for  ten  years,  and  I  make  bold  to  say  to  you  here 
what  I  have  said  to  great  assemblies  of  that  denomination, 
that  Rowland,  a  simple  business  man  from  Athens,  Georgia, 
is  the  chief  human  agency  in  this  transformation.  And  I 
say  to  you  that  there  are  one  thousand  men  on  this  floor 
of  equal  capacity  with  Mr.  Rowland  if  you  will  go  back  to 
your  community  and  help  to  work  this  thing  out.  He  was 
talking  about  this  to  a  group  of  business  men  in  New  York 
not  long  ago,  and  he  said  that  he  had  for  the  last  ten  years 
been  crowding  his  business  into  a  small  proportion  of  his 
time  until  now  he  is  able  to  take  care  of  his  secular  busi- 
ness in  two  or  three  hours  of  each  day  and  the  rest  of  his 
time  is  given  to  gospel  work  for  the  wide  world.  Then 
he  followed  this  in  the  next  breath  by  the  statement  that 
the  last  year  his  business  was  the  most  successful  of  any  he 
had  ever  had.  The  Lord  will  stand  by  you  fellows  if  you  will 
stand  by  Him  in  this  undertaking.  He  wants  one  thousand 
Methodist  men  on  this  floor,  if  not  two  thousand,  who  will 
decide  to  give  Him  a  fair  proportion  of  their  time  to  help 
work  out  this  problem  among  the  three  million  of  Methodists 
in  this  country,  and  you  will  never  solve  the  problem  by  simply 
giving  money.  No  man  has  money  enough  to  discharge  his 
obligations  to  the  Kingdom  of  God.  There  is  a  man  living  in 
North  Carolina  into  whose  mind  it  was  ray  privilege  to  put  this 
some  years  ago.  I  had  spoken  in  the  pulpit  of  the  church 

112 


THE  FORCES  AND  THE  FIELD— A  SURVEY. 

where  that  man  attended.  I  wrote  back  to  him  and  said: 
"Why  don't  you  take  a  great  big  corner  of  the  world  and 
plant  the  Kingdom  of  God  there?  Your  Church  has  twenty- 
five  millions  of  people  to  reach  in  the  non-Christian  world. 
Why  don  't  you  take  a  corner  of  Korea  or  Japan  or  China 
and  throw  in  a  force  big  enough  to  evangelize  it!"  He  said 
he  was  putting  up  a  hospital  just  then  in  his  own  town  that 
was  costing  three  or  four  thousand  dollars  and  took  most  of 
his  loose  change,  but  that  when  he  got  that  done  he  would  very 
seriously  consider  this  other  proposition.  Two  or  three  years 
went  by  before  he  came,  last  year,  to  the  decision  to  send  a 
dozen  missionaries  out  to  Korea  to  occupy  a  new  corner  of 
the  land,  containing  two  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  people. 
And  without  asking  any  co-operation  from  any  one,  he  is 
supporting  thirteen  American  missionaries  in  that  district, 
and  is  undertaking  to  plant  the  Kingdom  of  God  forever  in 
that  corner  of  the  world.  This  is  a  thing  that  one  thou- 
sand Methodist  men  could  duplicate,  if  you  would.  Easily 
a  hundred  men  here  who  could  take  a  corner  of  India  or 
Korea  or  China,  or  any  other  of  these  great  fields,  and  with- 
out asking  anybody's  co-operation,  simply  tell  the  Mission- 
ary Board  to  occupy  that  part  of  the  world  and  you  would 
pay  the  bill. 

Now,  going  on  to  the  story  of  the  United  Presbyterian 
Church,  which  I  have  been  asked  to  relate,  they  have  been 
working  seriously  for  a  number  of  years.  In  1912  they  had 
a  simultaneous  canvass  over  the  whole  denomination.  There 
are  one  thousand  congregations  and  one  hundred  and  forty- 
two  thousand  members  in  the  denomination.  This  morning 
Dr.  Hollingshead  gave  us  a  marvelous  insight  into  the  situ- 
ation in  your  great  Church.  How  did  you  feel  about  that 
fifty-three  cents  and  twenty-three  cents,  and  added  to  that 
the  thirty-nine  cents  per  member  of  the  women?  Add  all 
together  and  you  have  one  dollar  fifteen  per  year  through 
all  agencies  for  all  aggressive  work  at  home  and  abroad.  By 
the  simultaneous  canvass  in  1912  the  United  Presbyterian 

113 


MILITANT  METHODISM. 

Church  added  to  their  highest  average  per  capita  in  America 
one  dollar  and  twelve  cents  per  member  to  home  and  foreign 
missions.  I  am  not  talking  about  one  congregation;  I  am 
talking  about  the  whole  denomination  from  ocean  to  ocean. 
Out  of  one  thousand  congregations  about  seven  hundred  and 
nineteen  conducted  this  simultaneous  canvass  in  March  with 
that  great  result.  The  average  contribution  per  member  to 
home  and  foreign  missions  and  the  other  official  benevolences 
was  brought  up  in  that  Church  last  year  to  six  dollars  and 
eleven  cents  per  member.  That  includes  all  the  Churches 
that  are  not  doing  anything.  All  those  who  did  not  have  any 
pastor.  All  the  colored  Churches.  There  is  a  colored  Church 
down  in  Knoxville,  Tenn.,  that  averages  five  dollars  per  mem- 
ber to  home  and  foreign  missions.  Five  dollars  a  member  is 
only  ten  cents  a  week.  Most  people  waste  ten  cents  a  week 
on  something  not  necessary.  The  average  to  foreign  missions 
alone  in  the  United  Presbyterian  Church  last  year  was  two 
dollars  and  sixty  cents  per  member,  and  to  all  home  objects 
three  dollars  and  fifty  cents  per  member.  I  would  not  for 
the  world  hold  up  this  denomination,  even  though  I  did  belong 
to  it  once,  for  an  illustration,  unless  it  was  a  mighty  demon- 
stration of  the  practicability  of  doing  that  thing  in  almost 
every  denomination  in  this  country.  That  was  a  noble  thought 
of  Bishop  McDowell's  when  he  said  that  Methodism  had  no 
message;  that  it  was  Christianity's  message.  We  have  not 
got  any  Presbyterian  message  for  mankind.  I  have  belonged 
to  that  crowd  all  of  my  life,  and  we  have  not  got  any  folks  any 
better  than  you  are.  None  of  our  denominations  have  any  ex- 
clusive message  in  this  business  except  that  we  represent  Christ 
and  His  universal  message.  All  I  refer  to  the  United  Presby- 
terian Church  for  is  to  encourage  you  to  believe  that  you  can 
do  the  same  thing. 

I  believe  that  at  least  fifteen  million  of  the  twenty- 
three  million  of  Protestant  Church  members  in  this  country 
can  easily  do  as  well  as  the  United  Presbyterians  did  last 
year.  Do  you  know  what  that  would  make  from  fifteen  mil- 

114 


THE  FORCES  AND  THE  FIELD— A  SURVEY. 

lion  Church  members?  It  would  put  twenty-nine  million 
dollars  into  the  treasury  of  our  Mission  Boards  instead  of  the 
sixteen  million  dollars  given  now,  and  that  would  solve  our 
problem  and  enable  us  to  evangelize  the  world  in  this  gen- 
eration. Do  you  know  what  it  would  make  if  the  fifteen  mil- 
lion Protestant  Church  members  would  give  three  dollars 
and  fifty  cents  to  home  missions  ?  It  would  make  fifty-two  and 
a  half  million,  and  that  would  solve  our  city  problem  and 
home  mission  problem  as  far  as  money  can  solve  them.  The 
thing  is  practical,  and  if  we  ourselves  will  go  into  it  and  lift 
our  denominations  into  it,  we  can  make  it  a  success.  Now, 
the  United  Presbyterian  increase  did  not  take  anything  off 
preachers'  salaries  and  local  Church  expenses.  Some  have 
an  idea  that  we  took  money  out  of  one  pocket  and  put  it  in 
another.  There  is  no  worse  lie  of  the  devil  than  that.  When 
you  begin  to  give  you  enlarge  the  heart  and  the  love  and 
make  giving  a  joy  and  an  inspiration.  After  the  United 
Presbyterian  Church  had  added  one  dollar  and  twelve  cents 
per  member  for  missionary  objects,  it  added  one  dollar  and 
seven  cents  per  member  to  its  own  local  work  without  thinking 
about  it  at  all.  Their  average  per  member  for  this  year  for 
all  purposes  was  twenty  dollars  and  ninety-seven  cents  against 
your  twelve  dollars  and  four  cents.  If  you  reduce  that  to  a 
weekly  average,  it  was  an  average  of  forty-two  cents  against 
twenty-three  cents  a  week.  I  have  just  figured  up  your  aver- 
age since  I  came  on  the  platform.  You  have  been  talking 
about  giving  a  tithe — that  is,  a  tithe  of  two  dollars  and  thirty 
cents  a  week.  The  most  ignorant  Italian  who  lands  on  our 
shores  will  earn  that  in  about  a  day  and  a  quarter.  Twenty- 
three  cents  a  week  fromj  people  like  us  for  Church  support 
and  Christian  education  and  home  missions  and  foreign  mis- 
sions and  everything  else!  Why,  brethren,  it  ought  to  send 
us  down  on  our  knees  in  sackcloth  and  ashes  for  very  shame 
that  we  are  not  doing  more  than  that  in  view  of  the  sacrifice 
which  the  Son  of  God  made  in  order  that  this  world  might 
have  a  redemption  at  all. 

115 


MILITANT  METHODISM. 

Now,  what  is'  the  explanation  of  the  fact  that  this  one 
Church  has  been  able  to  make  this  record  this  last  year?  The 
pastors  have  largely  recognized  their  responsibilities  to  lead 
the  Church  out.  You  will  never  do  it  in  your  Church  until 
your  sixteen  thousand  pastors  get  the  vision  of  their  field  as 
the  world  field.  I  hate  to  hear  a  pastor  talking  about  his 
small  contracted  field :  he  is  only  in  a  contracted  field  when  he 
contracts  it  himself;  Jesus  Christ  set  him  down  in  the  midst 
of  a  world  field.  A  man's  Church  is  not  his  field,  but  only  his 
place  of  work  in  the  occupation  of  the  world  field.  You  will 
have  to  back  up  your  pastors  if  your  three  million  members 
will  do  the  great  things  the  Lord  wants  them  to  do.  The 
United  Presbyterian  pastors  have  been  backed  up  by  the  lay- 
men. For  twenty-five  years  there  has  been  a  committee  of  lay- 
men who  have  gone  here  and  there  to  help  plan  and  educate 
and  agitate  and  to  back  up  the  Boards  in  the  strongest  way 
possible.  They  have  had  a  great  deal  of  instruction  on  the 
grace  of  giving  and  on  systematic  and  proportionate  giving; 
and  how  much  we  need  it !  Not  because  God  needs  money. 
Let  us  get  beyond  the  place  of  thinking  that  God  is  a  beggar. 
No  man  has  a  right  to  beg  and  profess  to  be  doing  it  in  God's 
name,  for  God  is  no  pauper  and  no  beggar.  ' '  The  silver  and 
gold  is  Mine,  and  the  cattle  upon  a  thousand  hills;  if  I  were 
hungry  I  would  not  ask  you,"  says  God,  "for  the  world  is 
Mine  and  the  fullness  thereof."  Why  does  God  wait  upon  our 
giving  our  poor  nickels  and  dimes  for  the  spread  of  His  King- 
dom ?  I  have  thought  of  that  for  twenty  years,  and  I  believe 
that  the  only  reason  why  God  waits  and  allows  His  Kingdom 
to  wait  on  our  co-operation  and  our  gifts  is  that  you  and  I 
may  through  His  likeness  be  partakers  of  His  love.  ' '  God  so 
loved  the  world  that  He  gave,"  and  giving  He  gave  all,  and 
He  wants  us  so  to  love  the  world  that  our  giving  will  be 
spontaneous  and  inevitable.  "A  man  may  give  without  loving, 
but  he  can  not  love  without  giving." 

The  next  thing  is  that  the  missionaries  themselves  ten  years 
ago  got  together  and  told  our  Church  what  was  needed  in  the 

116 


THE  FORCES  AND  THE  FIELD— A  SURVEY. 

way  of  advance  if  this  problem  was  to  be  solved.  In  1902  they 
did  that  in  India,  and  in  1903  in  Africa,  so  for  ten  years  our 
Church  has  had  a  great  goal  put  before  it,  to  rise  up  and  win 
fifteen  million  of  people  in  the  non-Christian  world.  Another 
thing  has  been  the  simultaneous  canvass;  that  added  a  tre- 
mendous power.  Another  thing  has  been  prayer;  there 
has  been  a  great  gathering  of  a  thousand  people  in  India 
every  year  for  the  last  ten  years,  where  they  pray  day  and 
night  for  the  Church  at  home  and  for  a  revival  there,  and 
every  year  in  this  country  a  group  of  praying  people  have 
been  gathered  for  prayer  alone,  not  for  conference.  We  will 
never  do  the  work  without  prayer.  The  last  reason  of  all  is 
that  upon  the  Church  has  come  the  idea  that  our  Church  is 
only  a  little  fragment  and  not  all  the  body  of  Christ,  only 
a  little  regiment  in  the  army,  and  there  has  been  the  prayer 
and  the  hope  that  God  would  work  out  in  that  little  group 
an  object  lesson  proving  the  possibility  of  doing  this  work 
and  in  every  meeting  where  you  go  you  hear  them  stimulating 
each  other  to  do  this  thing  worthily  and  fully  for  Christ, 
that  the  whole  Church  may  be  stimulated  to  move  out,  each 
in  its  own  way,  to  the  accomplishment  of  its  own  task. 

My  brother  men,  you  have  been  given  the  greatest  vision 
that  God  has  ever  given  any  body  of  men  of  any  single  de- 
nomination. I  have  been  trembling  ever  since  I  came  on  this 
ground,  by  reason  of  wondering  whether  we  would  do  the 
thing  that  God  is  trying  to  get  into  our  hearts  to  do.  We  have 
need  of  prayer ;  we  need  it  here  in  Indianapolis  to-day  and  to- 
morrow, that  every  man  may  set  himself  unreservedly  to  the 
accomplishment  of  God's  will  for  your  Church,  for  the  whole 
Church,  and  for  this  Nation,  until  the  kingdoms  of  this  world 
are  made  the  Kingdom  of  our  Lord  and  of  His  Christ. 


117 


MILITANT  METHODISM. 

The  United  Brethren. 

BISHOP  HOWAED. 

AFTER  having  lived  among  the  Japanese  for  fifteen  years, 
naturally  you  would  expect  me  to  admire  their  fighting  spirit, 
and  I  can  not  express  to  you  men  what  an  inspiration  it  has 
been  to  me  to  have  been  on  this  platform  and  seen  this  mag- 
nificent body  of  Christian  Samurai.  What  can  not  this  great 
body  of  men  accomplish  if  you  map  out  a  program  that  is  truly 
heroic!  You  have  the  organization,  and  you  have  the  con- 
stituency, and  you  have  the  opportunity,  and  is  there  not 
need,  men,  for  us  to  make  such  a  program?  May  the  day 
soon  come  when  men  who  wish  to  have  their  blood  stirred 
will  go  to  a  missionary  meeting  where  a  great  and  far-reach- 
ing program  is  presented  and  where  that  which  is  truly 
heroic  in  the  benefit  that  will  be  conferred  on  their  fellow- 
men  is  mapped  out ! 

The  Laymen's  Missionary  Movement,  started  a  few  years 
ago,  is  just  beginning  to  bear  fruit.  The  careful  planning 
that  naturally  followed  that  great  movement  necessitated  a 
study  of  the  work  in  the  foreign  field.  I  had  a  part  myself 
in  working  up  the  statistics  of  the  actual  work  needed  in 
Japan.  Just  a  few  years  ago  people  seemed  to  think  that  the 
work  of  the  missionary  societies  in  Japan  was  practically  over ; 
but  as  a  result  of  the  Laymen's  Missionary  Movement  here 
the  missionaries  in  the  foreign  field  took  up  the  study  of  their 
part  anew.  I  was  surprised  myself  to  find  that  in  a  province 
of  Japan  lying  just  north  of  Tokio,  a  province  that  could  be 
reached  in  any  part  within  three  or  four  hours,  there  were 
three  hundred  and  thirty  villages — some  with  a  population  of 
two  thousand — and  in  not  more  than  ten  of  these  villages  was 
there  a  regular  Christian  work.  Two  provinces  lying  just 
near  Tokio  offer  a  fair  sample  of  the  villages  of  Japan  that 
remain  to  be  reached,  and  as  the  result  of  the  Laymen's  Mis- 
sionary Movement  this  careful  study  has  been  undertaken, 
and  so  the  task  in  Japan  is  better  understood  to-day  than  ever 

118 


THE  FORCES  AND  THE  FIELD—A  SURVEY. 

before.  You  are  familiar  with  the  progress  of  Mr.  Mott 
around  the  world  last  year,  in  India  and  various  parts  of 
China,  as  well  as  Japan,  mapping  out  the  general  campaign. 
And  now  to  come  home  after  eight  years  and  into  a  body  like 
this  with  its  magnificent  possibilities,  to  be  confronted  by 
such  a  challenge  as  was  offered  last  night,  is  a  greater  inspira- 
tion to  a  missionary  than  you  can  know.  If  to-day  we  map 
out  a  far-reaching  program,  it  will  be  not  only  a  great  chal- 
lenge to  your  Church,  but  to  the  other  Churches.  We  little 
people  could  not  expect  to  do  the  greater  work  God  has  clearly 
laid  upon  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church.  If  you  give  your- 
self to  some  great  task  with  your  organization,  with  your 
Churches  established  everywhere,  you  can  lend  a  greater  in- 
fluence to  the  whole  Christian  cause  in  the  United  States  than 
you  can  possibly  Imagine. 

And  not  only  so,  but  there  will  be  a  great  response  on  the 
part  of  the  native  men  in  other  parts  of  the  world.  Last 
night  in  a  committee  this  question  was  asked,  "How  can  you 
start  a  revival  in  Japan?"  and  Dr.  Green,  one  of  the  mis- 
sionaries in  Tokio,  said,  "The  best  way  to  start  a  great 
revival  in  Japan  is  to  start  one  in  the  United  States."  The 
influence  of  the  Church  in  America  is  so  great  on  the  Church 
in  Japan  that  if  there  is  a  great,  deep,  widespread  interest 
in  religion,  in  any  phase  of  Church  work  here  in  America, 
you  may  certainly  expect  a  counterpart  of  that  movement  in 
Japan.  And  what  is  true  as  regards  a  revival  is  true  in  any 
other  form  of  Church  work.  If  men  here  will  give  themselves 
loyally  to  the  upbuilding  of  the  Kingdom  of  God,  to  mapping 
out  large  plans,  the  Japanese  and  Chinese  will  respond  to  that 
movement.  Three  years  ago  some  of  you  may  remember  that 
a  Japanese  business  delegation  visited  America.  Probably  the 
leading  spirit  among  those  men  was  Baron  Chipasawa.  Up  to 
that  time  he  was  not  interested  in  Christian  work,  but  in 
America  he  was  struck  with  the  vast  sums  of  money  put  into 
Christian  churches  and  the  Young  Men 's  Christian  Association 
buildings,  and  when  he  went  back  to  Japan  he  was  a  different 

119 


MILITANT  METHODISM. 

man.  A  group  of  Japanese  gentlemen,  writers  and  busi- 
ness men,  was  called  together  and  they  were  to  talk  about 
establishing  a  magazine  to  promote  international  good-will, 
which  was  to  be  launched  to  counteract  this  infamous  lie  about 
the  Japanese  being  a  warlike  people.  This  group  of  men  met 
in  the  baron's  villa  at  three  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  and  for 
six  hours  they  talked  of  nothing  but  religion.  At  nine  o  'clock 
the  servant  came  and  said  that  it  was  time  for  the  last  car  to 
the  city,  and  they  said, ' '  We  have  not  said  anything  about  our 
magazine;"  and  they  appointed  another  meeting,  and  they 
came  together  again,  said  nothing  about  the  magazine,  but 
talked  of  religion,  and  all  this  interest  grew  out  of  the  impres- 
sion made  upon  the  baron.  That  was  one  result.  Another 
result  is  found  in  the  fact  that  the  men  of  wealth  over  there 
are  willing  to  give  when  they  believe  that  the  Christian  Church 
is  a  going  concern.  A  little  more  than  a  year  ago  the  Japanese 
contributed  three  hundred  thousand  yen,  or  one  hundred  and 
fifty  thousand  dollars,  to  one  university  in  Kioto.  So  it  is 
in  China;  the  Chinese  are  coming  forward  and  are  giving 
magnificent  sums  because  they  believe  that  the  Christian 
Church  can  solve  the  social  ills  that  China  finds  herself  con- 
fronted with  to-day. 

And  so,  men,  as  you  confront  a  great  program  to-day, 
do  not  think  for  one  minute  that  your  influence  is  going  to 
be  limited  by  the  confines  of  your  Church.  Some  small  Church 
might  set  itself  to  do  a  great  task,  but  the  people  in  general 
would  not  know  about  it.  But  it  is  otherwise  with  you.  Your 
influence  is  not  going  to  be  bounded  by  the  limits  of  the  United 
States,  but  will  be  tremendous  on  the  people  in  China,  the 
Philippines,  Japan,  and  Africa.  Is  it  not  glorious  to  live  in 
this  day  when  we  see  the  fulfillment  of  that  prophecy  in 
Daniel  that  that  stone  cut  out  of  the  mountain  without  hands 
should  fill  the  whole  earth?  That  little  stone  is  filling  the 
whole  earth,  and  you  are  to  have  a  glorious  part  in  it.  I  con- 
gratulate you,  and  pray  that  God  may  bless  you  in  it. 


120 


THE  FORCES  AND  THE  FIELD— A  SURVEY. 

S.  S.  HOUGH. 

THIS  present  movement  is  the  next  logical  step  in  the 
onward  movement  of  the  Kingdom.  For  if  you  study 
briefly  the  history  of  movements  during  the  last  century,  and 
especially  the  last  ten  or  fifteen  years,  you  can  see  that  we 
can  not  do  differently  from  what  we  are  doing.  It  was  Mr. 
Taylor,  of  your  own  Church,  together  with  the  editor  of  the 
Christian  Endeavor  World  who,  following  the  great  Student 
Volunteer  Convention  in  Toronto,  in  1900,  started  the  books 
for  mission  study  which  have  formed  the  basis  of  the  great 
mission  study  courses  throughout  the  world  during  the  last 
twelve  or  thirteen  years.  After  a  few  years  the  home  con- 
stituency took  it  up  and  developed  a  series  of  books  for  home 
study.  Then  there  was  a  necessity  for  catching  the  youth  and 
giving  them  the  vision  and  inspiration  during  the  adolescent 
period.  Then  came  the  great  Laymen's  Missionary  Move- 
ment, that  challenged  the  adult  contingent  in  the  army  of 
God,  the  men  that  were  not  enlisted.  It  was  dealing  with 
the  generation  passing  from  the  field  of  action.  We  are 
fortunate  to  come  into  the  Kingdom  at  a  time  like  this.  Let 
us  set  up  standards  that  shall  be  adequate,  calling  to  action 
the  full  power  of  the  whole  Church  membership,  and  release 
on  the  problem  of  God  the  united  force  of  the  whole  Prot- 
estant body,  reinforced  by  the  power  and  spirit  of  God. 

Now,  a  few  words  of  experience.  We  are  greatly  in- 
debted to  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  for  this  new 
financial  plan  that  is  being  put  before  the  United  Brethren 
Church.  We  have  three  hundred  thousand  members  in  this 
country.  A  few  years  ago  I  knew  what  was  going  on  in  the 
Methodist  camp,  and  asked  them  to  give  me  some  definite 
statement,  and  I  got  reports  of  the  work  following  your  Gen- 
eral Conference.  So  we  worked  out  our  scheme.  Before  this 
we  had  the  plan  of  having  the  various  departments  fire  at  the 
pastor  separately.  They  were  coining  from  every  angle,  until 
the  pastor  found  little  time  for  doing  constructive  work. 

121 


MILITANT  METHODISM. 

There  was  general  dissatisfaction  all  over  the  Church  with 
that  indiscriminate  separate  emphasis  on  the  part  of  every 
one  of  the  several  departments  asking  for  the  largest  possible 
gifts,  to  be  presented  separately  to  the  Church.  We  were 
through  with  that,  we  were  tired  of  it ;  but  the  rank  and  file  did 
not  understand  the  way  out  of  the  desert  or  the  wilderness,  and 
so  we  went  over  into  your  camp.  We  saw  you  had  worked 
out  a  plan  very  well,  and  so  we  adapted  that  to  suit  the 
United  Brethren  Church  and  we  passed  it  unanimously  at  our 
last  General  Conference,  and  our  financial  scheme  has  a  com- 
mission in  the  Annual  Conference  and  in  the  local  Church. 
And  now  we  saw  the  time  was  ripe  for  immediate  action. 
How  can  we  get  this  big  thing  in  operation  ?  It  is  easy  to  map 
out  a  beautiful  scheme,  but  a  very  different  thing  to  get  it 
working  in  the  hearts  of  the  people  and  make  it  produce  the 
result.  We  formed  a  plan  by  which  we  would  have  a  series 
of  institutes  at  our  Annual  Conferences,  and  we  would  ask 
the  bishop  and  the  men  who  arranged  the  program  to  grant 
the  Commission  on  Finance  a  whole  day's  session  in  each 
Annual  Conference,  and  if  they  could  not  possibly  grant  a 
whole  day,  grant  us  a  half -day  and  a  night  session,  so  that 
we  could  mobilize  our  forces  and  present  to  the  Conference 
one  solid  period  of  institute  work.  The  result  was  we 
mapped  out  the  right  way  at  every  Annual  Conference  in 
the  United  States  during  the  last  two  and  one-half  months, 
and  there  never  was  a  time  when  our  presentation  had 
such  force  as  it  had  this  year.  Usually  a  team  would  go 
out,  say  four  speakers;  one  would  present  the  great  thought 
of  God  for  the  evangelization  of  the  world  and  emphasize 
the  foreign  work.  That  would  be  followed  by  the  needs 
of  the  constructive  and  expansion  work  of  the  home  field 
in  a  speech  of  twenty  minutes.  That  would  be  followed 
by  a  talk  on  Sunday  school  work  and  colleges.  In  order  to 
get  a  plan  of  campaign,  we  emphasized  educational  work  and 
related  it  to  the  work  to  be  done,  something  that  is  not  always 

122 


THE  FORCES  AND  THE  FIELD— A  SURVEY. 

done,  but  we  are  getting  that  sort  of  a  spirit  in  our  institu- 
tions of  learning  through  this  united  movement.  We  are 
following  these  annual  sessions  with  district  institutes  such 
as  were  mentioned  in  this  room,  yesterday  afternoon  in  the 
Chicago  area  Conference  presided  over  by  Bishop  McDowell. 
We  have  gotten  to  the  point  where  we  have  unified  our  treas- 
urers, and  we  have  one  treasurer  for  the  entire  general  benevo- 
lences of  the  Church,  and  we  are  getting  a  report  in  blank 
form  for  the  districts  and  for  the  Conference  treasurers,  so 
that  the  money  for  this  combined  benevolent  scheme  shall 
be  lifted  right  through  the  year,  and  every  month  that  treas- 
urer shall  receive  and  transmit  to  date  to  our  general  treas- 
ur"er  a  statement  of  the  entire  amount  received  for  the  entire 
interests,  and  these  are  distributed  on  a  percentage  basis  to 
the  various  departments  of  the  Church  activity.  That  is 
already  thought  through,  and  the  printed  forms  have  gone  to 
press,  and  we  expect  to  get  the  thing  in  operation  so  that 
our  Boards  will  not  need  to  borrow  tens  and  hundreds  of 
thousands  of  dollars  during  the  year  and  wait  for  the  belated 
money  that  is  held  back  in  the  coffers  of  the  Church  and  the 
pockets  of  the  people. 

What  is  this  thing  going  to  do?  First,  it  will  shut  out 
the  power  of  the  devil  and  worldliness  from  our  men  who 
are  enlisted  in  the  work  of  the  Church.  It  will  give  fifty- 
two  blessings  to  every  person  where  two-thirds  of  them  have 
only  had  one  blessing,  for  "It  is  more  blessed  to  give  than 
to  receive.  This  thing  properly  conducted  is  going  to  clear  the 
decks  for  the  most  sweeping  revival  in  the  history  of  the 
Protestant  Churches  in  North  America,  if  we  can  get  down 
to  business  and  do  it.  You  and  I  know  the  laws  of  God  and 
the  operations  of  spiritual  laws  as  well  as  natural  laws,  and 
can  we  pray  to  God  fervently  and  expectantly  to  add  new 
members  to  a  Church  when  it  is  already  full  of  unenlisted 
members  who  are  standing  so  near  the  door  of  entrance  that 
no  new  member  can  come  in  without  catching  the  spirit 

123 


MILITANT  METHODISM. 

of  stagnation  and  paralysis  that  controls  those  within?  The 
call  of  God  to  the  Protestant  Christendom  of  North  America 
is  not  to  ask  God  for  a  single  new  member  until  we  have 
taken  care  of  and  rightly  related  the  extension  of  the  King- 
dom of  God  to  those  who  have  already  been  won.  Thus  and 
thus  only  can  God  bless  the  Church  and  through  the  Church, 
bless  the  world. 


124 


HI.    SECTIONAL  AND  EPISCOPAL  AREA 
CONFERENCES. 


The  Episcopal  Area  Conferences. 

EPISCOPAL  Area  meetings,  each  presided  over  by  the  resident 
bishop,  were  held  for  the  nineteen  divisions  in  the  United 
States  on  Wednesday  afternoon.  The  attendance  varied  from 
a  handful  of  those  from  far-distant  areas  to  hundreds  from 
the  area  in  which  Indianapolis  is  located  and  the  Chicago 
area,  a  near-by  neighbor.  The  purpose  of  both  the  small  and 
large  groups  was  to  consider  the  surveys  and  propositions 
as  presented  in  the  general  sessions  of  the  Convention  up 
to  this  time  in  relation  to  the  local  situation.  To  this  end 
an  expert  representing  the  Commission  on  Finance  analyzed 
the  statistical  survey  of  Annual  Conferences  and  Episcopal 
Areas.  The  discussion  involved  the  question  of  the  "every- 
member  canvass"  and  the  use  of  the  duplex  envelope,  which 
phase  of  the  entire  matter  brought  forth  much  testimony 
as  to  the  efficiency  of  both  canvass  and  envelope.  The  gen- 
eral impression  was  that  where  the  plan  has  been  worked 
thoroughly  the  success  has  been  beyond  expectations.  Many 
of  these  area  groups  made  definite  plans  for  furthering  the 
work  of  the  Commission  on  Finance  after  the  adjournment 
of  the  National  Convention  of  Methodist  Men. 

Sectional  Conferences. 

SECTIONAL  meetings  according  to  callings  were  held  on  Thurs- 
day afternoon.  The  District  Superintendents'  Section  sought 
to  devise  ways  whereby  the  new  financial  plan  might  be 
brought  more  effectively  to  the  local  Church.  And  the  super- 
intendents present  committed  themselves  to  the  task  of  put- 

125 


MILITANT  METHODISM. 

ting  the  plan  into  actual  operation  in  their  respective  districts 
in  the  following  resolutions: 

Resolved,  1.  That  we,  the  District  Superintendents  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church  in  attendance  upon  the  Annual 
Convention  of  Methodist  Men,  endorse  the  new  financial  plan 
and  pledge  ourselves  to  intelligent  and  enthusiastic  endeavor 
to  introduce  that  plan  in  all  the  Churches  under  our  super- 
vision. To  this  end  we  pledge  ourselves  to  a  simultaneous 
educational  plan  and  a  common  Every-member  Canvass  Day 
in  each  of  our  respective  districts. 

2.  We  will  co-operate  with  the  bishops  in  extending  this 
united  campaign  to  all  district  superintendents  not  present 
at  this  Convention,  and  we  will  welcome  such  action  on  the 
part  of  the  bishops  as  will  express  to  the  district  superin- 
tendents within  their  areas  the  expectation  that  every  dis- 
trict superintendent  will  do  his  utmost  to  introduce  the  new 
plan  into  every  charge  in  his  district. 

In  the  Pastors'  Section  the  every-member  canvass  was 
studied  in  actual  practice  as  presented  by  one  of  their  num- 
ber who  had  made  it  go.  It  was  unanimously  agreed  to  try  it 
out  in  the  home  Church. 

The  Methodist  Brotherhood  Section  re-emphasized  its 
particular  tasks  in  connection  with  the  local  Church,  and  re- 
ceived a  new  stimulus  as  a  promoter  of  Bible  study  among 
men. 

The  Sunday  School  Superintendents'  Section  reviewed  its 
responsibility  in  the  light  of  the  new  religious  psychology 
and  pedagogy,  the  rise  of  business  methods  in  Sunday  school 
organization,  the  new  sociology,  and  the  larger  appreciation 
o£  the  Bible. 


126 


PART  III. 
Forward,  March!— A  Call  to  Advance. 


jFuture* 

MEN  are  asking  by  the  score,  by  the  hundred,  What  will  be  the  result, 
the  concrete,  practical  result  of  our  coming  to  Indianapolis  and  spend- 
ing these  days  together?     Who  can  fairly  predict?     On  this  one  state- 
ment certainly,  we  will  all  agree,  and  that  is  that  from  this  mountain  top  to 
which  these  days  have  brought  us,  there  will  be  no  turning  back. 

I  have  thought  as  I  have  seen  the  bishops  and  others  of  our  leaders  actively 
interested  in  the  smallest  detail  that  concerns  this  great  work  that  we  are 
thinking  about  here  together,  and  as  I  have  seen  them  in  their  work  under  the 
somewhat  new  plan  inaugurated  by  the  General  Conference  at  Minneapolis, 
and  that  has  been  so  acceptable  to  the  people  everywhere,  that  they  are  the 
leaders  of  a  mighty  forward  movement  in  our  beloved  Methodism.  And  it 
seems  to  me  that  every  such  leader  will  go  out  of  this  Convention,  if  he  did 
not  so  come  to  it,  with  no  thought  of  dress-parade,  with  no  thought  of  anything 
but  to  lead  the  troops  and  to  be  with  them  in  their  victorious  advance. 

And  then  as  to  the  laymen,  what  of  them?  We  who  stay  in  the  trenches, 
who  follow  and  who  fight.  This  Convention  undoubtedly  must  have  the 
largest  message  for  us,  because  there  are  more  of  us.  I  do  not  know  what 
action  the  Convention  will  finally  take,  but  I  think  I  know  something  of  what 
the  Spirit  of  God  will  lead  us  to  say  and  to  do.  I  live  on  the  edge  of  Missionary 
Ridge,  the  Ridge  that  men  scaled  without  any  command.  They  were  simply 
told  to  go  to  the  foot  of  the  Ridge,  take  the  breastworks,  and  wait  for  ortlers. 
They  took  the  breastworks,  but  they  forgot  to  wait.  On  and  up  they  went 
till  the  flag  floated  from  the  top  of  the  Ridge.  And  I  mistake  the  character 
and  temper  of  the  men  who  have  been  tarrying  these  days  at  Indianapolis  if 
they  do  not  forget  to  wait  for  any  word  of  command.  We  see  the  heights, 
we  see  the  enemy,  but  we  see  also  the  Captain  of  the  mighty  host,  and  we  will 
not  stay  nor  stop  till  the  heights  are  taken  and  the  banner  of  our  King  floats 
triumphantly  over  the  mountains  and  the  villages,  over  the  lands  and  the  seas 
that  are  His  by  the  eminent  domain  of  His  love,  His  service,  and  His  sacrifice. 

Men  of  Methodism  :    Let  us  advance  together! 

JOHN  A.  PATTEN. 


128 


Forward,  March!— A  Call  to  Advance. 

THE  Task  and  Opportunity  have  been  presented;  the  forces 
and  the  field  estimated  and  surveyed ;  now  comes  the  call  for 
a  forward  movement  worthy  of  our  Church  and  our  day. 
Mere  philosophizing  is  comparatively  useless.  Knowledge  is 
power  only  as  it  is  embodied  in  action.  A  message  to  be 
effective  must  carry  with  it  some  insistent  appeal.  A  full 
understanding  of  the  situation,  need,  and  opportunity  is  in- 
stinct with  an  impulse  to  reconstruct  in  harmony  with  the 
new  vision.  In  every  department  of  life  the  drum-beats  are 
calling  for  a  forward  movement.  The  Church,  society,  the 
State,  the  world  are  all  in  a  mood  of  expectancy.  The  sense 
of  humanity  bulks  large  and  God  is  speaking  out  of  the  skies. 
It  was  evident  that  the  compelling  power  of  such  convictions 
rested  mightily  upon  the  Convention  during  the  presentation 
of  this  thrilling  topic.  Speakers  and  hearers  were  keyed 
and  kept  at  the  point  of  high  tension.  Every  one  realized 
that  mountain  peaks  of  vision,  responsibility,  and  privilege 
had  been  attained.  The  land  of  opportunity  was  before  us — 
a  field  for  conflict  and  for  conquest.  Forward,  March! 


I.    THE  CALL  OF  OUR  LEADERS. 


"The  Circulation  of  the  Scriptures." 
W.  I.  HAVEN. 

IT  is  the  conviction,  brethren,  of  every  one  who  speaks  to  you 
this  afternoon  that  the  burden  resting  upon  his  shoulders 
is  the  great  burden  of  the  Church.  I  am  no  exception,  for  it 
is  my  confident  conviction  that  the  circulation  of  the  Scrip- 
tures lies  at  the  foundation  of  all  our  Christian  advance.  The 
Bible  is  the  great  missionary.  That  may  be  controverted,  but 
I  wish  to  assert  it  again:  The  Bible  is  the  great  missionary 
•  129 


MILITANT  METHODISM. 

because  it  is  the  most  unsullied  mirror  of  the  perfections 
of  Jesus  Christ.  In  its  origin  it  is  the  fruit  of  the  Church 
inspired  by  the  Holy  Ghost.  Holy  men  spake  as  they  were 
moved  by  the  Holy  Ghost.  In  its  outgoing  it  is,  as  Bishop 
Parker  has  said :  The  seed  corn  of  the  kingdom.  Wherever  it 
goes,  Churches  spring  up.  It  is  everywhere  the  inspiration 
of  missionary  advance. 

Now,  I  am  bringing  to  you  a  truth  you  do  not  realize. 
For  nearly  a  century  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  has 
officially  recognized  its  obligation  to  circulate  the  Scriptures 
among  the  people  of  this  and  other  lands.  For  a  number  of 
years  it  had  its  own  Bible  Society,  but  in  1836  the  General 
Conference  disbanded  the  Methodist  Bible  Society  and  adopted 
the  American  Bible  Society  as  one  of  the  official  institutions 
of  the  Church.  For  seventy-seven  years  then,  brethren,  we 
have  been  your  servant.  During  this  period  we  have  sent 
forth  to  the  ends  of  the  earth  96,279,287  volumes  of  the 
Scriptures.  What  will  the  harvest  be? 

I  am  not  to  speak,  however,  of  the  past,  but  of  the  call  to 
advance ;  and  lest  my  time  runs  out  before  I  get  through,  let 
me  say  that  I  am  going  to  put  my  final  word  first,  and  say  that 
the  most  important  call  to  advance  is  the  call  to  advance  in 
offerings  on  the  part  of  the  Churches  for  this  cause.  In  1857, 
the  first  year  of  which  I  find  a  record  in  the  official  benevo- 
lent offerings  of  the  Church,  you  will  be  astonished  when  I 
tell  you  that  with  a  membership  of  820,519  members  its  offer- 
ings were  as  follows :  For  missions,  Home  and  Foreign,  $226,- 
697;  for  Sunday  schools,  $13,250;  for  the  American  Bible 
Society,  $46,610.  That  was  fifty  years  ago.  It  ran  up  to 
$90,000.  Then  it  went  down  to  nearly  $30,000,  and  during 
the  first  period  of  the  last  decade  it  went  up  until,  in  1910, 
it  was  $46,000,  and  now  again  it  has  gone  down  to  $34,000. 
Brothers,  do  not  forget  that  the  foundation  of  all  our  work 
is  in  the  circulation  of  the  Scriptures. 

1.  We  need  to  advance  in  order  to  keep  up  with  ourselves. 
During  seventy-seven  years  the  average  output  of  the  Scrip- 

130 


FORWARD  MARCH !— A  CALL  TO  ADVANCE. 

tares  by  the  Society  has  been  1,200,000  volumes  A  year.  But 
the  last  decade  the  average  was  2,500,000  annually.  But  the 
last  year  of  record  it  was  4,049,610  volumes.  The  world  is 
hungry  for  it,  and  we  will  have  to  advance  or  stumble  over 
ourselves.  What  is  true  of  your  Society  is  true  of  our  elder 
sister  in  Great  Britain,  whose  circulation  last  year  was  over 
7,000,000.  Add  the  circulation  of  the  three  Bible  Societies  of 
the  English-speaking  nations  of  the  world,  they  sent  out  over 
14,000,000  volumes  to  the  ends  of  the  earth  as  a  missionary 
agency.  But  all  this  could  be  put  into  one  nation ;  for  every 
volume  could  have  been  used  last  year  in  China  alone  if 
they  all  had  been  in  the  languages  of  that  Republic 
instead  of  the  five  hundred  polyglot  languages  of  earth. 
I  wish  I  could  make  you  realize  what  the  New  Testa- 
ment is  worth  to  that  people  over  there  who  are  trying 
to  build  up  a  Republic,  a  free  and  staple  goverment,  while 
the  Scriptures  are  unknown  to  millions  of  their  people.  No 
wonder  Bishop  Bashford  said:  "Modern  inventions  have  so 
reduced  the  cost  of  printing  the  Bible  that  a  single  gift  of 
$4,000,000  will  enable  the  American  Bible  Society  to  produce 
50,000,000  copies  of  the  Chinese  Bible;  at  an  additional  cost 
of  $1,000,000  these  could  be  distributed  by  missionaries  and 
pastors  and  colporters.  Thus  it  is  possible  for  $5,000,000, 
a  gift  within  the  power  of  one  Church  alone,  or  even  some 
wealthy  man,  to  evangelize  China  within  the  next  fifteen 
or  twenty  years  more  fully  than  Europe  was  evangelized  be- 
fore the  Reformation." 

2.  I  pass  to  the  next  point.  There  is  a  demand  for  ad- 
vance in  the  circulation  of  the  Scriptures  in  our  own  land. 
A  careful  statistician  of  the  Home  Mission  statistics  has  said 
in  1607  the  first  immigrants  landed  in  this  country  in  James- 
town, a  company  of  109,  and  that  in  the  twentieth  century, 
for  the  last  thirteen  years,  that  number  or  more  has  come 
into  this  country  every  hour  of  every  day,  year  in  and  year 
out.  That  company  was,  so  far  as  we  know,  homogeneous 
so  far  us  language  was  concerned;  but  your  Society  two  or 

131 


MILITANT  METHODISM. 

three  years  ago  sent  a  man  to  spend  his  entire  summer  in 
the  Southern  capitals  of  Europe  to  find  what  Bibles  were 
used  by  the  people  there.  Then  we  enlarged  our  warehouses 
and  stocked  them  full,  and  last  year  we  sent  out  into  this 
country  alone  Scriptures  in  seventy  languages  and  dialects. 
You  have  no  conception  of  what  it  means  to  people  coming 
to  our  land  to  give  them  the  gospel  in  their  own  tongue.  Some 
one  has  said,  "There  is  no  menace  in  this  immigrant  popula- 
tion except  the  menace  of  acquiring  a  population  not  brought 
up  in  the  ideals  of  the  New  Testament." 

Our  own  American  stock  is  in  a  condition  in  this  country 
which  we  do  not  imagine.  We  sometimes  plume  ourselves 
on  the  peril  of  the  foreign  born;  if  I  had  time  I  would  like 
to  argue  with  you  that  the  peril  is  equal  if  not  more  than 
equaled  in  the  decadence  of  our  own  American  stock  and  the 
loss  of  its  religious  life.  In  one  of  the  great  agencies  where 
our  colporters  are  at  work,  they  went  among  63,000  American 
homes  last  year  and  found  24,000  without  copies  of  the  Bible. 
We  must  go  out  among  these  people.  I  saw  the  other  day  a 
statement  made  by  a  French  Jesuit  concerning  Wesley;  he 
said:  "Newman  never  went  among  the  people;  Wesley,  on 
the  other  hand,  was  pre-eminently  an  apostle  to  the  multi- 
tudes ;  thus  after  his  preaching  millions  of  farmers  and  work- 
ingmen  have  remained  and  still  remain  Christians;  religion 
for  the  masses  is  the  problem  of  problems ;  Wesley 's  example 
ought  to  strengthen  and  enlighten  those  who  wish  to  stir  into 
life  the  religious  apathy  of  France."  It  means  getting  close 
to  the  people.  We  sent  out  among  these  people  last  year  428 
messengers ;  the  number  ought  to  be  doubled  immediately. 

3.  But  we  are  here  to  look  the  world  in  the  face  this  hour. 
I  spoke  of  China  a  few  moments  ago.  On  last  New  Year's 
day  the  strange  thing  happened  of  the  Gate  of  Heaven  in 
Pekin  being  thrown  open  to  our  superintendent  and  his  col- 
porters,  and  for  ten  days  they  sold  the  Scriptures  at  the  Gate 
of  Heaven  to  the  people  gathered  there ;  and  in  another  com- 
munity at  a  great  fair  for  twelve  days  they  sold  the  Scrip- 

132 


FORWARD  MARCH !— A  CALL  TO  ADVANCE. 

tares,  a  thousand  a  day,  to  the  people  who  crowded  those 
places.  We  made  our  heaviest  appropriation  last  year  to 
China;  it  seems  to  go  beyond  our  resources.  We  put  more 
than  $65,000  into  China  alone,  but  we  had  orders  for  more 
than  300,000  copies  of  the  Scriptures  that  we  could  not  afford 
to  manufacture  because  what  the  people  could  afford  to  pay 
for  these  volumes  in  their  poverty  was  so  much  less  than  the 
cost  of  manufacture.  We  had  operating  in  China  in  all  the 
eighteen  provinces  265  colporters  going  from  village  to  vil- 
lage. They  visited  13,000  villages  last  year,  and  we  ought 
to  have  1,000  colporters  at  work  immediately. 

I  have  here  in  my  hands  the  decree  passed  by  the  Legis- 
lature of  Peru  on  the  5th  of  October  last  decreeing  religious 
tolerance  to  all  religious  bodies  and  giving  them  the  right 
to  build  their  churches  and  worship  in  Peru.  And  I  have, 
what  is  more  significant,  the  action  of  the  15th  of  April  last 
in  which  they  put  the  Scriptures  into  their  public  schools 
in  Peru.  By  exchange  with  our  British  sister,  we  have  given 
her  our  own  work  in  Northern  Persia,  and  they  have  placed  in 
our  hands  all  other  work  in  Central  America  and  on  the 
Panama  Canal.  We  have  sent  our  agents  to  Port  Said  to 
study  methods  used  there.  We  expect  as  soon  as  the  Panama 
Canal  is  opened  to  give  the  millions  coming  through  that  gate- 
way the  gospel  in  their  own  speech. 

We  have  to-day  in  the  world  1,238  colporters.  A  few 
years  ago  when  I  talked  to  the  people  I  said,  400,  and  I 
said,  "It  is  the  400;"  now  we  have  three  times  as  many, 
but  where  we  have  a  full  regiment,  we  ought  to  have  an  army 
going  from  door  to  door.  Dr.  John  Butler,  of  Mexico,  who  is 
here,  told  me  that  nearly  every  preaching  place  in  Mexico  that 
we  Methodists  have  was  opened  up  by  a  Bible  colporter,  and 
that  is  true  in  all  Latin  America  and  in  many  heathen  lands. 
These  men  are  the  sappers  and  miners  and  open  the  way  for 
the  army  of  the  Cross. 

4.  I  have  no  time  to  speak  of  the  work  needed  in  ad- 
vance in  perfecting  the  versions  of  the  Bible.  Dr.  Drees 

133 


MILITANT  METHODISM. 

and  Mr.  Balz  are  over  in  Spain  on  a  committee  perfecting 
the  version  of  the  Spanish  Bible  for  90,000,000  of  people. 
Over  in  the  Philippines,  McLaughlin,  another  Methodist 
preacher,  is  at  work.  Do  yon  realize  that  the  translation 
of  the  Old  Testament  into  Greek,  what  we  call  the  Septua- 
gint,  prepared  the  soil  for  Christianity  throughout  the  Le- 
vant? Do  you  realize  that  Jerome's  translation  of  the  Vul- 
gate prepared  the  way  for  missionary  advance  all  over 
Europe?  Do  you  realize  that  TyndallV version  of  the  New 
Testament  prepared  the  way  for  advance  into  all  lands  where 
the  English  language  goes?  Last  Sunday  they  dedicated  a 
monument  to  him  in  Brussels,  where  he  was  strangled  by 
the  order  of  the  English  king.  Let  us  be  ready  for  those  who 
come  after  us. 


Advance  in  Temperance. 

CLARENCE  TRUE  WILSON 

THE  century-long  contest  between  the  organized  liquor  power 
and  Christian  civilization  is  culminating.  The  conspiracy  of 
silence  which  has  lasted  fifty  years  in  the  Nation's  capital 
has  been  broken,  and  the  Webb  Bill,  after  thorough  discus- 
sion, was  passed  by  approximately  a  two-thirds  majority. 
Then  the  President  waited  until  the  last  minute,  and  an- 
nounced in  his  Cabinet  that  there  was  not  time  to  reconsider 
it,  and  then  vetoed  it.  It  was  reconsidered  and  passed  by  a 
three-fourths  majority  over  Taft's  veto,  and  the  administra- 
tion went  down  beneath  an  avalanche  of  indignant  protest 
which  never  had  a  duplication  in  the  United  States. 

Now  we  have  a  Temperance  man  in  the  White  House,  and 
no  intoxicating  liquors  are  served  to  guests  upon  the  White 
House  table.  We  have  a  great  Temperance  statesman  as  our 
Secretary  of  State.  Former  Secretaries  of  State  have  written 
to  all  the  American  consuls  when  the  breweries  were  to  have 
a  big  convention  and  asked  them  to  find  out  what  they  could 

134 


FORWARD  MARCH !— A  CALL  TO  ADVANCE. 

do  to  increase  the  amount  of  American  beer  exported  to  other 
countries,  making  every  American  consul  a  beer-maker's 
agent.  William  Jennings  Bryan  will  never  do  that  until  the 
sun  grows  cold.  When  the  representatives  of  the  nations 
gathered  around  his  table,  he  set  before  them  the  same  kind 
of  grape  juice  that  they  used  in  Palestine  in  the  days  of 
Jesus,  the  kind  that  was  used  in  the  institution  of  the  Last 
Supper.  And  Bryan's  grape  juice  and  Emperor  William's 
lemonade  are  becoming  as  popular  as  buttermilk.  When 
somebody  pointed  the  finger  of  criticism,  Mr.  Bryan  made 
a  temperance  speech  that  has  been  heard  around  the  world 
and  is  echoing  still.  A  few  days  after  that  memorable  event, 
the  Secretary  of  War  telegraphed  down  to  the  Canal  Zone 
and  on  June  30th  every  saloon  was  closed  and  no  more  licenses 
issued.  Not  a  week  passed  before  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy 
sent  word  to  the  Navy  Department  that  the  law  against  the 
keeping  and  the  use  of  intoxicating  liquor  on  shipboard  must 
be  strictly  observed,  and  the  navy  went  dry. 

The  last  State  that  voted  on  the  question  of  prohibition 
carried  it  by  a  94,000  majority,  and  West  Virginia  wheeled 
into  line  with  her  prohibitkm  sisters.  Now  ten  States  have 
outlawed  the  liquor  traffic,  thirty-six  other  States  have  given 
the  people  the  right  to  exclude  all  rum  shops  through  local 
option.  Better  than  all  this,  the  unseemly  division  of 
temperance  forces  is  at  an  end.  The  temperance  forces  of 
the  New  World  have  gotten  together,  not  by  passage  of 
resolutions,  but  by  putting  up  an  object  big  enough  to  draw 
all  eyes,  and  when  they  started  for  it  they  found  themselves 
together.  They  stood  together,  and  swords  were  turned  to  the 
enemy  and  not  to  each  other.  The  National  Anti-Saloon 
League  is  called  to  meet  on  the  10th  of  next  month  in 
Columbus,  Ohio,  the  greatest  convention  that  ever  assembled 
on  the  temperance  question  in  the  history  of  our  world.  It  is 
called  to  announce  a  slogan  and  to  consider  a  campaign  that 
is  going  to  mean  an  amendment  to  the  Federal  Constitu- 
tion prohibiting  the  manufacture  and  sale  and  transporta- 

135 


MILITANT  METHODISM. 

tion  of  alcoholic  beverages  throughout  the  United  States. 
The  Prohibitionists  started  that  campaign  forty-four  years 
ago,  and  though  it  will  not  be  won  by  their  methods,  they 
will  be  there  in  line  to  help  push  the  final  battle.  The 
"Woman's  Christian  Temperance  Union  will  be  there,  the 
Good  Templars  will  be  there,  the  seventeen  organized  Church 
temperance  societies  will  be  there  in  force,  and  they  will 
be  for  all  time  a  united  force  against  the  liquor  power. 
That  amendment  to  the  Federal  Constitution  is  going  to 
pass  the  Senate  and  House  and  be  passed  on  to  the  States 
in  such  a  surprisingly  short  time  as  to  take  the  breath  of 
the  people  who  have  not  kept  their  faith  up  to  their  wishes. 
There  is  more  prospect  of  carrying  it  through  Congress  to- 
day than  there  was  the  Webb  Bill  two  years  ago.  One 
of  the  most  strategic  movements  of  the  temperance  reform 
has  come  almost  without  observation.  It  is  this:  The  seven- 
teen great  denominations  of  the  country  have  organized  them- 
selves at  last  into  Church  temperance  societies  to  make  senti- 
ment among  their  own  millions  and  publish  literature  for  Sun- 
day school  and  Young  People's  organizations,  to  inspire  the 
ministry  to  lead  the  reform  in  every  community,  and  to  fill 
the  Church  press  with  information  about  the  rapidly  chang- 
ing issues  of  the  temperance  reform.  I  name  it  as  the  latest 
evolution  of  the  temperance  reform  that  the  Church  of  Christ 
has  at  last  ceased  to  carry  prohibition  by  resolutions,  and 
instead  has  organized  for  it  as  it  organizes  for  Church  Ex- 
tion  and  Freedmen's  Aid.  Brethren,  if  you  want  literature 
for  distribution,  books  for  study,  speakers  for  campaigns, 
programs  for  your  quarterly  temperance  lessons  in  the  Sun- 
day school,  studies  for  the  young  people  of  the  Epworth 
League,  I  want  to  announce  that  the  Temperance  Society 
of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  was  organized  for  this 
purpose,  with  headquarters  at  Topeka,  Kansas.  Glorious  old 
Kansas,  that  has  shown  to  the  other  States  of  the  Union  for 
thirty  years  that  a  State  can  thrive  through  droughts  and 
everything  else  without  the  aid  of  license  money ! 

136 


FORWAKD  MARCH !— A  CALL  TO  ADVANCE. 

The  whole  license  system  is  lame  in  logic  and  a  failure 
in  practice,  wrong  in  principle  and  powerless  as  a  remedy, 
foolish  as  a  financial  investment  and  a  Judas  Iscariot  in 
morals.  It  has  put  human  souls  up  for  sale  for  revenue 
only.  We  ought  to  cry  out  against  it  in  this  body  in  such  a 
way  that  our  voice  would  be  heard  around  the  world. 

"The  Call  to  Advance  in  the  Sunday  School." 
EDGAR  BLAKE. 

I  REALLY  wish  at  this  moment  that  I  had  a  temperance  sec- 
tion in  my  speech.  There  are  a  number  of  dry  periods  in  it, 
but  none  that  deals  with  the  liquor  problem. 

The  papal  delegate,  the  official  representative  of  the  pope 
in  this  country,  in  addressing  a  great  Roman  Catholic  gather- 
ing in  the  city  of  Chicago  some  weeks  ago,  said:  "Whenever 
there  is  a  decline  of  faith  and  in  morals  it  can  be  restored 
through  the  training  of  the  children.  From  one  child  rightly 
reared,  a  whole  generation  of  Christians  can  come.  What 
they  receive  to-day,  they  will  give  fifteen  years  hence,"  and 
then,  he  added,  "The  great  task  of  the  Church  of  Christ 
is  the  training  of  our  children."  I  have  been  looking  over 
this  body  of  men  this  day  assembled  to  face  the  central  task 
that  confronts  the  Church  of  Christ  to  make  our  Master  reg- 
nant in  the  thought  and  life  of  the  world,  and  as  I  look  I  note 
the  fact  that  the  average  age  of  the  company  is  about  forty 
years,  which  means,  brethren,  that  the  final  conflict  in  this  war 
of  Christ  is  not  to  be  fought  by  you  and  me,  but  by  our  chil- 
dren and  our  children's  children.  While  we  do  what  we  may, 
and  please  God  that  it  may  be  much,  to  advance  the  interests 
of  the  Kingdom  of  our  Master  in  our  day  and  generation, 
the  most  strategic  proposition  that  fronts  us  this  hour  is  the 
training  of  the  generation  that  shall  be  inspired  with  the 
thought  and  thrilled  with  the  purpose  to  make  our  Christ 
the  Master  of  the  world  thought  and  life. 

Now  I  am  going  to  speak  to  you  in  this  period  upon  the 

137 


MILITANT  METHODISM. 

call  to  advance  from  the  standpoint  of  the  Sunday  school.  At 
the  beginning  of  1908  we  had  three  and  one-third  millions 
of  mten,  women,  and  children  in  the  Sunday  schools  of  our 
Church.  At  the  close  of  the  year  1913  we  have  four  and  one- 
half  millions.  In  the  six  years  from  1901.  to  1907  the  member- 
ship of  the  Sunday  schools  of  our  denomination  increased 
by  about  350,000.  In  the  last  six  years,  1907  to  1913,  the 
increase  has  been  1,150,000.  The  increase  has  been  three  and 
one-half  times  as  great  in  the  last  six  years  as  in  the  six 
years  immediately  preceding.  Tn  the  six  years  from  the  be- 
ginning of  1907  to  the  close  of  1912  the  Sunday  schools  of  our 
Church  have  reported  the  conversion  of  952,000  of  their 
scholars  to  Christ.  In  the  same  six  years  our  Sunday  schools 
have  placed  upon  the  altars  of  God  to  send  the  gospel  into 
the  uttermost  parts  of  the  earth  more  than  four  million  dollars. 
We  are  in  the  midst  of  the  most  striking  and  remarkable  ad- 
vance in  the  history  not  only  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church,  but  in  the  history  of  the  Church  of  Jesus  Christ  in 
the  past  century.  In  the  last  four  years  the  Church  has  made 
an  increase  of  $19,000  in  the  annual  offering  to  missions.  In 
the  same  period  the  Sunday  schools  have  increased  their 
annual  offerings  by  $118,000.  The  increase  in  the  Sunday 
school  offering  to  missions  has  been  six  times  as  great  as 
that  in  the  Church.  If  we  should  suddenly  deprive  our  great 
benevolent  Boards  of  the  support  they  now  receive  from  the 
Sunday  schools  of  the  Church,  four  out  of  the  six  great  Boards 
of  our  denomination  would  be  face  to  face  with  absolute 
and  almost  hopeless  bankruptcy.  If  it  were  not  for  what 
our  Sunday  schools  are  now  giving  to  our  Church  member- 
ship, that  membership  would  show  a  net  decline  of  100,000 
members  a  year.  The  year  1928  would  have  a  membership  in 
our  Church  cut  clean  in  two,  and  inside  of  a  generation,  if 
it  were  not  for  the  recruits  that  come  from  the  Sunday 
school,  our  Church  would  almost  have  ceased  to  be.  The 
future  of  our  Church  is  not  worth  more  than  one  generation 's 
purchase,  apart  from  the  great  body  of  childhood  and  youth 

138 


FORWAKD  MARCH !— A  CALL  TO  ADVANCE. 

and  the  work  being  done  in  our  Sunday  school  department. 
And  sometimes  I  think  we  have  not  appreciated  it.  I 
picked  up  the  budget  of  one  of  the  leading  Churches  of  our 
denomination,  and  appropriations  made  by  the  Official  Board 
of  that  Church  for  the  year  included  for  the  Sunday  school 
$850.  I  thought  that  was  fine.  But  I  found  the  Church  music 
appropriation  $4,500.  They  have  eighty-five  officers  and  teach- 
ers and  they  have  five  members  in  the  choir.  That  great 
Church  is  spending  ten  dollars  per  person  a  year  upon  the 
equipment  of  its  men  and  women  to  teach  its  childhood  and 
youth  religion  and  morals,  and  is  spending  nine  hundred  dol- 
lars upon  a  soprano  to  entertain  the  congregation  on  Sundays 
only.  That  is  an  extreme  case  in  this  respect,  that  the  vast 
majority  of  our  Official  Boards  make  no  provision  whatever 
for  their  Sunday  schools.  The  Methodist  Episcopal  Church 
is  devoting  less  than  eight  per  cent  of  its  total  expense  to 
this  department  from  which  eighty  per  cent  of  all  our  growth 
comes.  We  shall  never  have  a  generation  pervaded  by  the 
spirit  of  Christ  and  held  in  the  grip  of  spiritual  ideas,  mo- 
tives, and  purposes  until  the  Church  makes  a  vastly  larger 
investment  in  the  training  of  the  childhood  and  youth  in 
spiritual  things. 

I  met  one  of  our  ministers ;  he  said  to  me : ' '  Some  time  ago 
my  people  desired  me  to  look  after  a  certain  wayward  man 
about  sixty-three  years  old.  I  camped  on  the  trail  of  that 
man  for  nearly  three  weeks,  until  I  finally  ran  him  down, 
brought  him  to  church,  got  him  to  the  altar,  and  he  was 
converted  to  Christ.  It  was  worth  all  the  effort  I  made." 
Then  he  said,  "With  the  time  and  effort  it  took  me  to 
win  that  one  man  to  Christ  I  could  have  won  fifteen  lads 
to  the  Master  and  saved  them  from  that  man's  career."  I 
sat  in  the  East  Maine  Conference  with  Bishop  Burt  when  he 
called  the  clast>  to  be  ordained  as  deacons  and  elders.  Out  of 
the  fifteen  fine  fellows  who  came  forward  to  be  ordained, 
fourteen  said  that  they  found  Christ  before  they  were  six- 
teen years  old.  Here  we  have  a  magnificent  body  of  men, 

139 


MILITANT  METHODISM. 

and  I  venture  the  vast  majority  found  Christ  when  you 
were  lads.  Does  that  teach  us  nothing?  Has  not  the 
time  come  for  our  Church  to  shift  its  methods?  Is  it  not 
worth  as  much  to  save  a  lad  from  becoming  a  drunkard,  as 
it  is  to  save  him  after  he  has  become  one?  Is  not  forma- 
tion worth  as  much  to  the  Kingdom  of  God  as  reformation? 
Is  it  not  the  business  of  the  Church  of  Christ  to  minister 
to  lives  beginning  as  well  as  to  lives  closing?  The  thing 
that  I  stand  here  to  plead  for  this  afternoon  is  not  that  the 
Church  shall  do  one  whit  less  in  behalf  of  lost  men  or  women 
who  have  strayed  from  God's  home.  I  would  that  we  might 
do  vastly  more  for  those  who  have  strayed  from  the  Father 
of  us  all.  But  the  thing  I  plead  for  is  that  this  body  of 
Methodist  men  shall  speak  to  the  Church  of  Christ  in  Amer- 
ica and  around  the  world,  sounding  a  note  out  across  the 
country  and  the  continents  and  the  seas  that  shall  summon 
our  Church  to  care  for  her  childhood  and  youth,  to  lead  them 
to  the  Church  and  to  Christ.  The  future  of  our  land  is  in 
hands  of  that  Church  that  makes  the  largest  investment  in 
and  the  most  successful  venture  which  childhood  and  youth. 
In  the  United  States  this  hour  more  than  20,000,000  of 
children  and  youth  under  twenty  years  are  receiving  no 
ministration  whatever  in  the  name  of  Christ,  either  Protest- 
ant, Catholic,  or  Jewish,  but  are  growing  up  absolutely  unmin- 
istered  to  in  the  name  of  our  Master.  Gentlemen,  there  is  a 
field  white  unto  the  harvest  ready  for  him  who  will  glean 
therein.  If  you  will  give  us  the  backing  of  this  Convention 
and  the  support  of  our  denomination,  and  will  double  the  re- 
sources of  the  Board  of  Sunday  Schools,  we  will  lead  a  move- 
ment in  America  and  in  the  world  such  that  inside  of  seven 
years  it  will  put  seven  millions  into  the  Sunday  schools  of  our 
Church,  and  will  put  a  million  dollars  annually  into  the 
coffers  of  our  Boards  of  Missions — Home  and  Foreign.  I  look 
into  faces  that  represent  the  brain  and  brawn  and  genius 
of  Methodism  in  Amjerica;  and  I  challenge  you  to  meet  the 
offer  that  our  Board  makes  this  afternoon. 

140 


FORWARD  MARCH!— A  CALL  TO  ADVANCE. 

The  Need  of  Advance  in  Our  Educational  Work. 

THOMAS  NICHOLSON. 

LAST  week  one  of  the  great  New  York  "dailies,"  perhaps  the 
one  of  them  all  the  most  sympathetic  and  friendly  to  the 
Church  and  all  that  the  Church  advocates,  said  editorially: 

"What  is  the  matter  with  the  preachers?  Have  they  lost 
their  fire,  their  inspiration,  their  grip  on  the  people?  They 
seem  to  be  busily  engaged  in  confessing  that  they  have.  In 
every  denomination  we  hear  the  complaint  of  inability  to 
get  the  people  into  the  Churches,  and  of  the  difficulty  in 
inducing  bright,  brainy  young  men  to  enter  the  ministry. 
Of  course,  this  impression  must  be  false.  The  Churches  are 
operated  by  sincere  people,  firmly  convinced  of  their  pos- 
session of  a  great  saving  truth.  It  is  proper  to  say,  however, 
that  the  searching  of  hearts  now  going  on  among  the  shep- 
herds of  the  flock  is  entirely  timely." — (New  York  Evening 
Mail  for  October  22,  1913.) 

No  thoughtful  and  well-informed  person  will  deny  the 
increasing  difficulty  of  attracting  the  masses  to  the  Churches 
or  of  bringing  them  into  hearty  co-operation  with  the  pro- 
gram of  Christianity.  The  reasons  for  this  difficulty  are 
manifold.  The  changed  conditions  of  our  civilization;  the 
insane  lust  for  money  getting;  the  negative  influence  of  the 
press  itself:  the  rage  for  pleasure;  the  possible  failure  of 
the  Church  to  adjust  itself  quickly  and  safely  to  these  mod- 
ern conditions,  and  numerous  other  reasons  may  well  be 
studied  earnestly.  Mature  reflection,  however,  convinces  me 
that  no  single  cause  is  so0  potent  as  the  negative  attitude 
of  our  whole  system  of  public  education  to  the  religious 
element  in  education  and  life.  As  a  Nation  we  are  con- 
stantly saying  to  successive  generations  of  youth:  "The 
three  R's,  the  fundamentals  of  a,  liberal  education,  are  of 
vital  importance.  If  you  do  not  willingly  avail  yourself 
of  their  benefits,  they  are  so  essential  to  life  and  good  citizen- 
ship that  we  have  compulsory  education  laws.  We  think  so 

141 


MILITANT  METHODISM. 

much  of  our  system  of  secondary  education  that  we  now  spend 
$43,000,000  a  year  upon  it ;  and  our  system  of  State  univer- 
sities is  of  such  worth  to  the  State  that  last  year  it  cost  us 
over  $72,000,000.  But  religion  is  an  optional.  You  may 
take  it  on  the  side  lines  if  you  wish,  but  it  is  not  even  an 
elective  in  our  course.  As  a  Nation  we  have  no  concern 
about  it.  The  Churches  in  their  voluntary  capacity  are  sup- 
posed to  be  concerned  about  it,  but  if  they  fail  to  reach 
the  problem,  let  the  subject  take  care  of  itself." 

Now,  gentlemen,  do  not  misunderstand  me.  There  is  not 
a  man  on  the  floor  of  this  Convention  more  loyal  and  devoted 
to  our  great  system  of  public  education,  from  the  little  red 
schoolhouse  on  the  hillside  to  the  great  State  university  in  the 
valley,  than  am  I.  I  simply,  as  its  friend,  point  out  to  you, 
its  friends,  that  the  system  is  not  yet  perfect;  and  I  point 
out  to  you  its  gravest  defect,  Education,  wherever  one  gets 
it,  is  the  chief  formative  force  in  a  man's  development.  To 
omit  religion  from  the  training  of  our  youth  is  to  insert  the 
germ  which  will  result  in  the  lingering  death  of  the  Church, 
and  which  will,  I  believe,  lead  to  National  deterioration. 
George  Washington  told  the  new  Nation,  in  his  "Farewell 
Address:"  "Of  all  the  dispositions  and  habits  which  lead 
to  political  prosperity,  religion  and  morality  are  indispensable 
supports.  Let  us  with  caution  indulge  the  supposition  that 
morality  can  be  maintained  without  religion.  Whatever  may 
be  conceded  to  the  influence  of  refined  education  on  minds 
of  peculiar  structure,  reason  and  experience  both  forbid  us 
to  expect  that  National  morality  can  prevail  in  exclusion  of 
religious  principle." 

Gentlemen,  I  stand  here  not  merely  to  urge  your  interest 
in  a  little  group  of  schools  and  colleges  operated  by  the  Meth- 
odist Episcopal  Church.  I  come  to  urge  upon  you  the  larger 
duty  of  joining  a  movement  which  shall  never  cease  until  we 
see  the  religious  element  restored  to  its  proper  place  in  our 
great  National  system  of  education.  It  is  not  a  question  of 
maintaining  a  few  schools  as  a  denominational  propaganda. 

142 


FORWARD  MARCH!— A  CALL  TO  ADVANCE. 

It  is  the  larger  question  of  finding  a  way  to  let  the  breath 
of  God  breathe  through  the  bones  of  a  life  withered  and  dry 
without  that  vital  breath.  It  is  the  question  of  the  preserva- 
tion of  National  morality  on  an  eternally  safe  basis.  And  I 
make  bold  to  say  that  no  greater  question  can  or  will  engage 
the  attention  of  this  superb  body  of  men.  It  is  of  supreme 
importance,  and  this  Nation  is  not  at  this  moment  alive  to 
its  deepest  significance.  What  is  the  use  of  sending  mil- 
lions of  money  every  year  to  foreign  lands  to  Christianize 
alien  people,  if  we  can  not  make  the  program  of  Chris- 
tianity effective  in  the  noblest  Nation  of  them  all?  Is  it 
no  concern  of  this  body,  is  it  no  concern  of  this  Nation 
that,  by  figures  compiled  with  scrupulous  care  by  the  pres- 
ent private  secretary  of  John  R.  Mott,  we  are  shown  that 
in  the  five-year  period  from  1904  to  1909  our  own  North- 
western University  at  Evanston  furnished  four-fifths  as 
many  recruits  for  our  foreign  missionary  service  as  all 
the  State  universities  in  the  United  States  combined? 
Is  it  of  no  significance  that  two  of  our  smaller  colleges 
in  the  same  five-year  period  furnished  us  more  missionary 
recruits  by  five  than  all  those  State  universities  combined? 
Look  at  facts  like  these.  We  have  perhaps  not  less  than 
20,000  Methodist  students  in  State  universities,  yet  they  re- 
turn to  us  but  four  per  cent  of  our  ministers.  One  great 
State  university,  with  a  thousand  student  members  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church  and  with  three  thousand  mem- 
bers of  other  evangelical  Churches,  and  with  a  body  of  alumni 
numbering  eight  thousand,  is  said  in  half  a  century  to  have 
given  less  than  twenty  ministers  to  all  the  evangelical 
Churches  combined.  Of  the  college  men  entering  our  min- 
istry, moreover,  twenty-two  per  cent  testify  that  their  call 
to  the  ministry  came  to  them,  not  before  they  went  to  college, 
but  while  they  were  students  in  our  own  denominational 
schools,  showing  the  vitality  of  the  religious  influence  exist- 
ing there. 

I  am  not  making  an  attack  upon  State  universities.    Let 

143 


MILITANT  METHODISM. 

that  be  clearly  understood.  I  am  sympathetic  with  their 
problems.  Many  of  their  presidents  and  professors  are  devout 
Christian  men  who  deplore  these  facts  as  much  as  I  do.  Many 
of  them  would  give  their  right  hands  if  they  could  cure  these 
things.  They  implore  our  aid  in  meeting  the  grave  situation. 
They  know  that  a  series  of  conditions  and  circumstances  in 
the  history  of  this  Republic,  which  they  did  not  create  and 
for  which  the  Church  itself  was  not  wholly  guiltless,  begat 
an  eagerness  to  be  free  from  sectarianism,  which  resulted  in 
leaving  the  Bible  out  of  our  education,  but,  what  was  and  is 
of  greater  moment,  led  to  a  narrow  method  of  instruction  in 
history,  in  literature,  and  in  the  humanities  generally.  The 
movements  of  God  in  human  history,  the  influence  of  religious 
conviction  born  of  the  study  of  the  Bible,  the  influence  of  the 
moral  ideals  inspired  by  the  Man  of  Nazareth  can  be  dis- 
cussed in  many  class  rooms  with  far  less  freedom  and  sym- 
pathy than  can  the  philosophy  of  Haeckel  or  the  opinions  of 
the  promoters  of  the  French  Revolution.  Almost  any  new 
or  novel  subject  could  be  introduced  into  the  curriculum 
easier  than  could  a  course  in  the  literature  of  the  Bible  or  a 
sympathetic  study  of  evangelical  religion.  It  is  the  para- 
mount duty  of  the  American  Church  to  bury  its  sectarian 
differences  and  unite  its  rival  bodies  in  an  effort  to  create 
a  public  sentiment  which  will  correct  this  defect  and  which 
will  put  the  religious  element  in  its  rightful  place  in  our 
public  education.  In  my  judgment,  for  the  public  school 
age  we  should  intensify  the  responsibility  of  the  home  and 
the  Sunday  school  for  the  culture  of  the  religious  life  of  the 
child,  and  we  should  aid  to  put  in  the  public  school  cur- 
riculum some  such  course  of  moral  and  religious  instruction 
as  has  been  worked  out  successfully  in  two  or  three  of  the 
Western  States. 

There  is  another  consideration.  This  is  an  age  of  insti- 
tutions, and  the  Christian  spirit  must  be  institutionalized  if 
it  is  to  prevail.  A  Nation  becomes  neither  permanent  nor 
strong  until  it  develops  settled  institutions.  If  Christianity 

144 


FORWARD  MARCH !— A  CALL  TO  ADVANCE. 

is  to  survive,  if  it  shall  become  powerful  enough  to  in- 
fluence the  coming  generations,  it  must  voice  itself  through 
the  institutions  of  the  Nation,  and  our  great  problem  at 
this  hour  is  how  to  preserve  the  benefit  of  training  and  of 
culture,  how  to  preserve  the  great  institutions  of  modern 
civilization  without  letting  them  go  to  destruction  for  lack 
of  moral  and  spiritual  direction,  how  to  have  them  rich  and 
powerful  without  having  them  selfish,  self-centered,  and  the 
creatures  of  arrogant  oligarchies.  Only  the  great,  command- 
ing, life-giving  force  of  divine  love,  breathing  through  them 
and  permeating  their  whole  being,  will  accomplish  this.  And 
for  this  purpose  we  must  strengthen  and  broaden  our  denomi- 
national colleges  as  we  have  not  yet  dreamed  of  doing. 

TIIE  STATE  STARTS  ITS  EDUCATIONAL  POLICY  from  the  doc- 
trine of  duty,  growing  out  of  the  child's  right  to  an  educa- 
tion; on  the  inherent  responsibilities  of  citizenship;  THE 
CHURCH  STARTS  HERS  from  the  Christian  impulse  of  the  love 
of  God  and  of  men.  The  Church  believes  that  duty  can  never 
be  fully  met  while  there  is  indifference  to  the  underlying 
forces  that  develop  men  and  perpetuate  civilization.  To  the 
Church  spiritual  ideals  are  supreme.  The  denominational  col- 
lege is  and  will  remain  her  great  fort  where  the  freedom  of 
religion  will  be  maintained  with  the  same  courage  as  in  the 
State  institutions  the  freedom  of  science  will -be  defended. 
I  insist  that  the  Church  college  mftist  never  falter  in  its  in- 
sistence on  these  moral  and  spiritual  essentials.  The  fact  is 
that  not  all  these  Church  colleges  are  as  pious  as  they  might 
be.  Not  every  college  we  have  is  just  now  a  veritable  copy 
of  the  Kingdom  of  God  come  down  to  earth,  nor  of  the  per- 
fection of  wisdom  in  the  use  or  disposition  of  moral  and 
spiritual  forces.  They  are  struggling  with  great  difficulties. 
They  are  in  the  midst  of  great  temptations.  Their  presidents 
are  diverted  from  educational  and  spiritual  contact  and  lead- 
ership by  the  stern  necessities  of  finance.  They  are  doing 
a  great  work  for  the  Kingdom  as  it  is,  but  they  must  go  on 
to  perfection,  they  must  ask  no  pardon  for  giving  prime  con- 
w  145 


MILITANT  METHODISM. 

sideration  to  these  vital  religious  concerns.  But,  gentlemen, 
I  want  the  Church  college  to  be  less  and  less  a  denomina- 
tional propaganda,  and  more  and  more  the  defender  of  these 
Christian  ideals  and  the  champion  of  the  rights  of  the  vitally 
religious  element  in  all  education.  I  want  the  Church  college 
to  lay  less  and  less  stress  on  religiosity,  cant,  and  ehurchianity, 
and  more  and  more  stress  on  the  great  Christian  funda- 
mentals. I  want  them  never  to  surrender  on  the  incontro- 
vertible principle  that  we  can  not  get  ultimate  and  final  truth 
if  we  leave  out  the  moral  and  spiritual  element  in  the  culture 
of  the  men  who  seek  for  the  truth.  I  want  these  colleges 
to  be  cautious  not  to  take  a  querulous  and  antagonistic,  much 
less  a  villifying  attitude  toward  State  institutions.  Our  mis- 
sion is  to  help  and  not  to  hinder,  to  supplement  and  not  to 
supplant,  to  create  a  public  opinion  which  will  demand  per- 
fection, and  to  perfect  ourselves  that  we  may  the  more  force- 
fully demand  it.  We  must  consistently  place  the  perfected 
education  by  the  side  of  the  education  imperfect  because 
of  the  lack  of  the  religious  element,  until  the  world  realizes 
the  lack  and  supplies  it.  I  therefore  want  these  Church 
colleges  to  be  well  equipped  and  well  endowed.  They  can 
not  do  their  great  work  if  their  libraries  are  composed 
only  of  antiquated  books,  if  their  laboratories  are  absent 
or  ridiculously  defective,  or  if  their  teachers  are  narrow 
traditionalists,  bigots,  or  weak  and  nerveless  men  who  ex- 
pect to  be  protected  by  ecclesiastical  or  religious  sanctions 
from  the  searching  tests  of  truth  and  efficiency  which  come 
to  other  men.  Their  equipment  must  be  of  the  best.  Their 
Faculties  must  be  composed  of  noble  men  of  proved  and 
accurate  scholarship,  reverent  toward  God,  devoted  to  their 
fellow-men,  and  incapable  of  an  ethical  twist  for  the  sake  of 
securing  personal  advantages. 

The  Church  must  accept  the  responsibility  for  the  sup- 
port of  these  institutions,  but  I  believe  we  have  a  right  to 
ask  for  them  free  and  liberal  contributions  from  citizens  gen- 
erally. The  skilled  workman  demands  the  best  tools.  The 

146 


FORWARD  MARCH !— A  CALL  TO  ADVANCE. 

man  who  works  beneath  his  ideals  soons  degenerates.  Great 
teachers  will  not  and  can  not  get  along  with  inferior  equip- 
ment. The  days  of  the  omnibus  professor  are  ended.  Life-- 
long  education,  critical  knowledge  of  a  specific  subject,  power 
of  original  research,  scientific  accuracy,  spiritual  insight, 
personality,  and  moral  fiber  are  the  demands.  Men  who  ac- 
quire these  must  forego  many  of  the  prizes  of  business  and 
professional  life,  and  they  have  a  right  to  demand  adequate 
compensation  and  retiring  allowances.  Such  teachers  have 
supreme  opportunities  for  molding  world  civilizations.  The 
schools  under  the  auspices  of  our  own  Church  are  counted 
by  the  score.  With  a  very  few  exceptions  they  are  stra- 
tegically placed  and  in  communities  where  they  are  needed. 
They  have  an  abundant  wealth  of  students.  The  number  con- 
stantly increases.  But  look  at  these  facts.  In  1911  the  sta- 
tistics show  that  the  average  cost  per  student  of  such  educa- 
tion as  we  gave  was  not  less  than  $140 ;  in  some  institutions  it 
was  considerably  higher.  The  total  amount  received  in  tuitions 
and  all  student  fees  was  a  little  over  $90  per  student.  Person- 
ally I  have  not  much  sympathy  with  the  movement  to  increase 
fees  and  tuition  excepting  to  cover  the  actual  cost  of  board 
and  such  expenses.  We  want  democracy  in  education.  The 
Church  should  make  education  with  the  religious  element  as 
free  as  the  State  makes  education  without  the  religious  element. 
But,  be  that  as  it  may,  when  we  add  to  the  average  fees  paid 
by  each  student  the  average  amount  received  from  all  income, 
from  endowment  and  rental  of  property,  from  room  rentals 
in  dormitories,  from  Conference  collections,  we  find  the  aver- 
age total  amount  received  from  each  student  from  all  sources 
combined  is  only  $99.14.  In  order  to  pay  the  actual  present 
cost  of  education,  we  must  supply  an  average  of  something 
like  $40  per  student  in  their  current  income,  and  that  means 
that  they  must  have  an  increased  Sustentation  Fund  of  well 
on  toward  a  million  and  a  half  of  dollars  per  year.  The 
Board  of  Education  deserves  the  dignity  of  a  great  benevolent 
Board  of  the  Church ;  every  member  of  the  Church  in  every 

147 


MILITANT  METHODISM. 

State  should  be  interested  and  enlisted.  We  can  not  do  the 
work  of  supporting  and  supervising  these  colleges  properly 
if  we  leave  it  to  local  pride  or  prejudice,  or  to  the  confines 
of  single  municipalities.  A  National  society  has  the  advantage 
of  opportunity  to  study  country-wide  phenomena.  No  local 
agency  can  possibly  have  the  outlook  upon  the  field  which 
a  National  agency  may  have.  If  the  National  agency  is  scien- 
tifically conducted,  it  gives  valuable  advice  in  regard  to 
methods,  and  it  has  the  opportunity  to  aid  in  the  saving  of 
very  large  sums  of  money. 

A  recent  report  of  the  United  States  Commissioner  of  Edu- 
cation places  the  average  cost  of  education  per  student  in 
the  universities  and  colleges  of  the  country  at  $303.  It  would 
take  an  added  endowment  of  $167,000,000  this  year  of  grace 
1913  to  bring  our  endowments  up  to  the  point  where  their 
income  would  equal  the  average  amount  per  student  which 
the  higher  institutions  of  the  country  have  expended.  But 
fifty  cents  a  member  would  add  that  needed  current  income; 
fifty  dollars  a  member  for  a  single  year  would  supply  all  that 
needed  endowment. 

THE  BOARD  OF  EDUCATION  therefore  urges  upon  this  great 
Convention  the  necessity  for  an  immediate  advance  in  support 
of  educational  institutions.  It  urges  the  placing  of  the  appor- 
tionment for  public  education  at  a  more  liberal  figure,  and 
earnestly  insists  that  the  amount  should  be  raised  in  every 
charge.  It  urges  your  loyal  support  of  our  denominational 
colleges,  not  only  because  of  their  vital  relation  to  the  sources 
of  supply  of  our  workers  at  home  and  abroad,  and  also  be- 
cause they  are  a  vital  and  necessary  part  of  our  great  system 
of  public  education.  It  urges  the  co-operation  of  these  insti- 
tutions with  those  in  charge  of  the  administration  of  our  sys- 
tem of  public  education  to  the  end  that  the  religious  element 
may  find  its  proper  place  in  all  education  everywhere.  The 
aim  of  denominational  life  should  be  the  Larger  Christian  life 
which  will  tend  to  make  all  men  everywhere  love  and  serve 
our  Christ. 

148 


FORWARD  MARCH !— A  CALL  TO  ADVANCE. 

Advance  in  Freedmen's  Aid  Society. 
P.  J.  MAVEETY. 

IN  the  city  where  I  live  they  have  recently  put  up  the  largest 
skyscraper  on  the  face  of  the  earth  outside  the  city  of  New 
York.  A  little  while  ago  a  company  of  the  members  of  the 
Board  of  Managers  of  the  Freedmen's  Aid  Society,  through 
the  courtesy  of  the  vice-president  of  the  institution  that  owns 
it,  were  invited  to  visit  it,  and  we  were  taken  to  its  top,  nearly 
five  hundred  feet  from  the  pavement.  From  the  top  of  that 
great  structure  the  city  stretched  out  in  every  direction. 
The  great  river  swept  and  twisted  and  wound  its  way  in 
the  distance.  The  hills  rose  covered  with  beautiful  homes, 
and  the  hum  and  buzz  of  the  city  rose  like  the  swelling  of 
a  great  organ.  Everything  was  beautiful  from  the  top  of 
that  huge  building,  and  as  we  visited  it  from  story  to  story 
and  saw  the  beauty  of  the  offices  and  the  magnificence  of 
display  on  every  hand  we  were  charmed,  and  we  were  inclined 
to  go  away  feeling  that  everything  must  be  as  beautiful  as  this. 
Now,  the  men  who  have  been  on  this  platform  to-day  have 
lifted  us  to  the  top  of  a  great  building,  and  from  this  top 
we  have  looked  out  over  Methodism.  We  have  seen  its  wind- 
ing way  through  the  centuries;  we  have  seen  its  hilltops  of 
success;  we  have  heard  the  busy  hum  and  murmur  of  its 
millions  of  men  and  women  working  for  the  advancement  of 
the  Kingdom  of  God,  and  we  have  been  delighted  and  pleased 
and,  I  have  no  doubt,  fascinated  with  the  beauty  of  the  pros- 
pect. But  most  of  the  people  who  go  to  the  top  of  the  build- 
ing forget  that  this  building  has  a  cellar,  and  very  few  of 
them  go  down  to  visit  and  see  the  man  in  the  cellar.  But 
I  am  going  to  take  you  for  a  few  moments  this  afternoon 
and  show  you  the  man  in  the  cellar.  Christianity  is  not  to 
be  judged  by  its  hilltops — it  is  not  to  be  judged  by  what  it 
does  for  the  rich,  although  this  is  a  hard  task;  it  is  not  to 
be  judged  by  what  it  does  for  the  great  masses  of  the  people, 
for,  thank  God!  they  are  mostly  religious  anyhow,  and  they 

149 


MILITANT  METHODISM. 

need  only  to  be  guided  and  directed.  But  our  Christianity, 
the  Christianity  of  our  day,  is  to  be  tested  by  what  it  does 
for  the  man  in  the  cellar.  I  do  not  mean  in  the  slums.  No,  no. 
The  man  in  the  slums  may  be  a  hobo  or  he  may  be  an  idler,  or 
he  may  be  a  drinker.  But  I  mean  the  man  in  the  cellar,  the 
man  with  grime  upon  his  face,  the  man  of  the  strong  hand,  the 
man  of  the  brave  heart,  the  man  without  whom  the  top  of  the 
skyscraper  and  without  whom  the  beauty  and  the  comfort  of 
all  that  lies  between  the  pavement  and  the  top  would  be 
utterly  impossible.  Our  civilization  has  its  cellar,  and  the 
man  in  the  cellar  of  our  civilization  in  our  country  is  the 
man  with  the  grimy  face,  with  a  hard  hand,  with  a  strong 
heart,  and  with  a  musical  voice  as  you  have  heard  this  after- 
noon. This  man  is  the  man  in  the  cotton  fields,  the  man  in 
those  great  sections  of  the  South  that  furnish  our  civilization 
so  much  of  its  comfort,  so  much  of  its  satisfaction,  so  much 
of  its  joy.  And  I  come  this  afternoon,  in  the  few  minutes 
I  have,  to  this  great  body  of  Methodist  men  gathered  from 
all  over  the  land  and  ask  you,  my  brethren,  What  are  you 
doing  to-day  for  these  black  men  in  the  cellars  of  our  civiliza- 
tion? I  take  it  for  granted  that  Christianity  is  for  the  men 
in  the  cellar  as  well  as  for  the  men  in  the  rooms  above.  I 
take  it  that  when  Jesus  said  to  a  handful  of  fishermen  and 
farmers  on  a  hillside  in  Galilee,  "Go  ye  and  make  disciples 
of  all  the  nations,"  that  He  excluded  none,  and  therefore  the 
white  man  and  the  brown  man,  the  yellow  man  and  the  black 
man  are  all  embraced  in  that  great  commission.  I  suggest 
also,  what  has  been  suggested  previously  to-day,  that  this 
religion  is  a  universal  religion;  that  it  is  for  the  white  man 
and  the  black  man,  the  king  on  his  throne,  the  noble  in  his 
palace,  the  business  man  in  his  office,  the  farmer  in  the  field, 
the  artisan  in  the  shop,  and  for  the  humblest  sweeper  on  the 
stairway  or  the  street.  If  that  be  not  so,  if  there  be  any  sec- 
tion of  our  world,  any  race  of  people  for  whom  it  is  not 
adapted,  then  we  must  cease  preaching  and  search  for  the 
universal  religion  that  reaches  all  men.  But  we  do  not  have 

150 


FORWARD  MARCH!— A  CALL  TO  ADVANCE. 

to  do  that.  We  have  the  demonstration  of  it  everywhere,  for 
earlier  Methodism  reached  the  men  in  the  cellar.  It  began 
with  the  man  in  the  cellar  in  English  life,  and  it  went  up 
through  every  grade,  because  the  man  in  the  cellar  may  be- 
come the  man  on  the  throne.  Kingdoms  and  empires  may 
be  swayed  and  moved  by  the  power  of  his  mind  and  the 
strength  of  his  hand  and  his  heart. 

Now,  this  black  man  in  our  country  is  ten  million  strong. 
At  the  close  of  the  war  four  millions  of  them  were  freed  from 
slavery,  and  from  that  time  until  now  they  have  been  multi- 
plying and  increasing  until  they  number  ten  million.  And 
we  in  our  egoism  have  presumed  to  say  that  because  this 
man  is  backward  and  because  he  is  poor  and  covered  by  the 
grime  of  centuries,  that  therefore  he  is  a  problem  to  us. 
Forgetting  that  all  men  are  problems  to  God,  and  that  the 
great  problem,  after  all,  is  not  the  black  man,  is  not  the  brown 
man,  is  not  the  yellow  man,  or  any  other  man,  but  the  problem, 
is  the  man  ignorant,  the  man  poor,  the  man  backward,  the 
man  who  is  vicious  and  who  has  not  the  opportunity  to  cor- 
rect and  control  those  evil  tendencies.  The  Methodist  Church, 
in  response  to  the  call  of  this  great  home  missionary  problem, 
has  at  this  present  time  twenty-two  schools  among  these  black 
people  in  the  South,  where  nearly  seven  thousand  boys  and 
girls  are  being  trained  to  be  preachers  and  teachers  and  Chris- 
tian leaders  among  their  own  people.  Some  of  the  brainiest 
and  strongest  and  holiest  men  and  women  that  the  Church 
ever  produced  have  gone  down  into  that  Southland  to  train 
and  teach  this  man  in  the  cellar,  that  he  might  be  able  to  come 
up  into  the  light  and  go  out  on  our  streets  and  enjoy  the 
sunlight.  Thank  God  that  he  may  do  so!  These  men  and 
women  have  given  to  the  Church  its  ministers,  its  teachers, 
its  preachers,  and  its  members.  Out  of  ten  millions  of  these 
black  folks  four  millions  are  members  of  Christian  Churches 
and  one  and  three-quarter  millions  are  members  of  Christian 
Sunday  schools.  They  have  thirty -five  thousand  Christian 
Churches,  and  they  have  about  the  same  number  of  ministers 

151 


I 

MILITANT  METHODISM. 

to  minister  to  them.  These  churches  have  a  seating  capacity 
of  ten  millions  of  people,  so  that  all  the  people  who  choose 
to  go  to  church  on  any  occasion  would  have  seats  ready  for 
them.  This  property  is  worth  $56,000,000.  They  also  have 
imitated  us  in  another  thing,  that  these  properties  are  in  debt. 
They  have  $5,000,000  of  indebtedness ;  but,  deducting  it,  there 
is  still  $51,000,000  gathered  as  the  result  of  fifty  years'  work, 
and  that  is  at  the  rate  of  a  million  dollars  per  year  of  every 
year  of  freedom. 

The  call  for  advance  is  based  on  two  or  three  things. 
First,  the  demand  for  better  and  stronger  preachers,  teach- 
ers, and  Christian  leaders.  The  South  is  awakening  to  its 
duty  and  its  responsibility  to  the  black  man.  While  here 
and  there  there  are  still  individuals  who  are  living  in  the 
Middle  Ages  or  in  Russia,  or  in  Florida,  where,  on  the  9th 
day  of  June  the  governor  of  the  State  put  his  pen  to  an  act 
of  the  Legislature  forbidding  white  persons  to  teach  colored 
pupils  in  a  colored  school.  If  that  were  spoken  of  Russia,  we 
would  feel  that  it  was  commensurate  with  the  ignorance  and 
backwardness  of  the  land  of  the  Czar.  The  South,  however, 
as  a  whole,  is  waking  up  to  the  fact  that  this  black  man  must 
be  educated,  trained,  else  he  becomes  a  menace  to  himself  and 
a  menace  to  the  people  among  whom  he  lives.  Popular  edu- 
cation is  extending  wider  and  wider,  and  there  are  school 
teachers  enough  to  supply  the  great  demand,  but  there  are 
not  preachers  enough  who  are  trained  and  educated  to  supply 
the  demand  caused  by  the  better  training  and  the  larger  vision 
of  the  colored  people.  Therefore  it  belongs  to  the  great 
Churches  of  the  North,  whose  schools  have  been  down  there 
for  nearly  half  a  century,  to  provide  those  Christian  ministers 
and  Christian  teachers  and  Christian  leaders  for  the  service 
which  they  will  be  called  upon  to  do  in  the  training  of  this 
colored  population  during  the  next  twenty-five  years.  The 
larger  call  comes  from  the  South,  from  our  colored  Churches. 
When  we  mention  the  name  Africa:  Mohammedanism  like 
a  tremendous  wave  is  sweeping  over  Africa  from  the  North, 

152 


FORWARD  MARCH !— A  CALL  TO  ADVANCE. 

and  it  has  reached  almost  half  way  towards  the  South.  If 
we  are  not  to  stand  still  and  see  Mohammedanism  stretch  its 
awful  pall  of  ignorance,  polygamy,  and  licentiousness  over 
Africa,  we  moist  hasten  to  prepare  the  ten  million  blacks  of 
the  United  States  with  consecration  and  knowledge  enough 
to  send  representatives  into  that  dark  continent  and  bring  it 
to  Jesus  Christ. 

The  demand  for  the  education  and  training  of  the  black 
man  comes  from  our  own  needs.  You  heard  from  the 
first  speaker  this  morning  how  small  the  world  has  become 
and  how  the  dividing  lines  have  disappeared.  There  never 
was  a  time  in  the  history  of  the  world  when  it  was  so 
true  that  no  man  liveth  to  himself  or  dieth  to  himself, 
for  if  we  live  to  ourselves  we  die  miserably,  and  if  we  die 
we  can  not  die  without  bringing  some  one  down  to  death 
with  us.  If  they  have  the  plague  in  Shanghai,  the  rats  bring 
it  over  to  New  York  or  to  San  Francisco  by  the  first  vessel. 
The  newspapers  said  a  few  days  ago  that  the  plague 
had  been  found  in  rats  in  New  York  City.  We  live  in  the 
same  house  with  the  men  of  China  and  of  Africa,  and  we 
can  not  help  ourselves.  It  becomes  necessary,  then,  that  Chris- 
tianity join  hands  with  the  scientific  man  to  rid  the  world 
of  vice  and  ignorance  and  everything  that  would  cause  any 
race  to  die  lest  in  its  deatli  it  bring  down  all  the  other  races 
with  itself.  We  are  under  the  necessity  of  training  the  black, 
man  in  the  South  in  order  that  we  may  be  free  from  the 
consequences  of  his  ignorance  and  poverty  and  the  diseases 
that  come  upon  him.  Statistics  tell  us  that  he  is  three  or  four 
times  more  liable  to  tuberculosis  than  the  white  man  because 
of  ignorance  and  unsanitary  surroundings  and  inability  to 
take  care  of  himself  in  sickness.  In  order  that  we  may 
protect  ourselves  we  must  bring  these  men  into  a  larger 
life  for  themselves.  We  must  help  the  black  man  out  of 
the  cellar,  for  the  man  in  the  cellar  will  breed  disease  for 
the  man  in  the  skyscrapers  to  its  very  top.  The  black 
man  comes  to  you  not  as  a  man  in  the  slums,  but  in  the 

153 


MILITANT  METHODISM. 

cellar.  He  puts  the  (ire  under  the  boilers  that  run  the 
machinery  of  civilization.  He  goes  out  into  the  cotton  and 
cornfields  and  everywhere  to  contribute  his  share  towards 
the  great  conglomeration  of  human  beings  which  we  call  civili- 
zation, composed  of  men  of  every  type.  And  only  as  the 
Church  goes  forth  with  the  gospel  of  Jesus  Christ  in  its  hand 
and  with  the  love  of  Jesus  Christ  and  the  love  of  manhood 
and  womanhood  in  its  heart,  will  it  serve  itself  or  its  God 
in  this  day  and  generation.  If  we  do  that,  we  have  before  us 
the  prospect  of  training  and  educating  the  largest  section  of 
the  humblest  Protestant  people  on  the  face  of  the  earth. 
This  great  Negro  population  is  almost  entirely  Protestant, 
and  of  that  Protestant  population  a  very  large  section  is 
Methodist  or  Baptist.  The  responsibility  that  rests  upon  us 
is  tremendous.  It  is  a  critical  time  with  our  black  brothers. 
They  have  not  yet  secured  a  foothold  in  property  or  a  foothold 
in  society;  they  have  not  yet  secured  a  sufficient  foothold  in 
the  Nation  to  take  care  of  themselves ;  they  are  still  dependent 
upon  us  for  love  and  sympathy,  and  for  money  that  their 
teachers  may  be  paid  and  buildings  erected  and  their  work 
carried  on. 

Brethren,  our  work  commends  itself  to  those  who  are  out- 
side. The  largest  single  gift  to  the  work  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church  during  the  last  five  or  ten  years  came  from 
a  man  who  is  not  a  member  of  any  Church,  Mr.  Andrew  Car- 
negie. The  second  largest  came  from  a  Presbyterian  woman, 
$12,500 ;  and  the  third  largest  gift  came  from  a  Unitarian  of 
New  England,  who  gave  $35,000  for  the  building  at  Orange- 
burg,  South  Carolina.  And  the  next  was  from  a  Jew  of 
Chicago,  and  another  from  the  aforesaid  New  England  Uni- 
tarian. So  that  Jew  and  Gentile,  bond  and  free,  Methodist 
and  Presbyterian,  Englishman,  Scotchman,  Irishman,  and 
American  have  all  joined  together  in  this  great  work,  and 
they  see  the  need  of  it,  the  need  of  bringing  to  these  colored 
people  of  the  South  the  uplifting,  the  humanizing,  and  the 
constructive  processes  of  our  Christian  civilization. 

154 


FORWARD  MARCH!— A  CALL  TO  ADVANCE. 

Advance  in  Home  Missions  and  Church  Extension. 
WARD  PiiATT. 

THE  needs  of  the  Board  of  Home  Missions  and  Church  Ex- 
tension are  as  manifold  as  the  forty  nationalities  that  crowd 
our  shores  and  till  our  soil.  America  is  the  fountain  that 
waters  the  earth.  If  the  fountain  be  pure,  the  streams  will 
bring  life  to  the  nations.  As  a  nation  thinks,  so  it  is;  its 
Churches  determine  the  character  of  its  thinking.  The  man 
of  God  officiating  in  the  place  of  worship  is  the  center  of 
things  which  tend  to  the  regenerating  of  the  community  and 
the  building  of  a  new  earth.  To  aid  in  building  more  than 
]  5,000  such  churches  and  to  extend  help  to  the  maintaining 
of  four  thousand  preachers  is  the  work  of  this  Board.  And 
every  such  church  is  a  new  center  of  supply  for  every  benevo- 
lent cause,  and  every  such  preacher  is  the  agent  for  every 
benevolent  Board.  In  a  single  quadrennium,  the  last, 
Churches  were  helped  to  the  number  of  1,775,  and  four  thou- 
sand preachers,  in  making  their  appeal  for  all  good  causes, 
were  subsidized  by  this  Board  to  the  extent  of  $2,600,000. 
Then,  this  appeal  of  the  Board  of  Home  Missions  and 
Church  Extension  is  as  fundamental  as  our  Methodist  propa- 
ganda. This  Board  of  Home  Missions  has  its  responsibilities 
as  I  have  indicated  in  a  world  sense.  We,  the  most  popular 
Protestant  body,  numerically  the  largest,  have  our  propor- 
tionate responsibility  in  our  National  life  and  influence.  Situ- 
ated as  we  are  in  the  North  Temperate  Zone,  we  have  the  ideal 
climate.  Our  soil  excels  in  natural  fertility.  Our  mineral 
deposits  are  rich  and  various.  We  have  vast  forests  and 
mighty  rivers.  Stupendous  as  are  our  material  achievements, 
they  are  but  the  foregleaning  of  an  output  from  stream  and 
soil  and  air  and  wealth  which  is  hardly  above  the  horizon 
of  dreams.  We  inherit  the  best  blood  and  genius  of  a  select 
ancestry.  We  inherit  ideals.  We  are  still  under  the  thrill 
of  the  Puritan  who  endeavored  to  realize  the  Kingdom  of  God 
in  his  community  and  Commonwealth.  We  inherit  the  best 

155 


MILITANT  METHODISM. 

Christian  civilization  upon  which  the  sun  has  thus  far  shone. 
That  is  evidenced  by  our  Christian  propaganda  that  leads 
Christian  forces  in  the  world  evangel.  We  inherit  the  good- 
will of  the  nations  yet  to  be  Christianized.  Historically  our 
relation  to  them  gives  America  an  open  door  more  fully  than 
comes  to  any  other  people.  Truly  our  call  is  a  world-call. 
We  have  untold  millions  of  people  in  different  portions  of 
the  earth  turning  from  worn-out  civilizations  and  exploded 
religions  and  they  are  endeavoring  to  approximate  the  insti- 
tutions of  these  United  States  of  America.  In  short,  we  are 
so  scrutinized  and  studied  that  if  we,  through  missionary  and 
other  aid,  may  set  up  in  the  United  States  of  America  the 
Kingdom  of  God  adequately,  in  the  next  few  years  it  is  certain 
to  go  clean  around  the  earth. 

If  you  ask  what  the  Board  is  doing  in  a  particular  sense 
to  help  this  Nation  realize  its  world  mission,  we  might  specify 
and  say  that  $473,000  have  been  appropriated  in  a  year  to 
white  English-speaking  peoples;  $57,000  to  be  spent  among 
ten  million  Negroes.  The  American  Negro  tends  to  hold 
leadership  in  his  race,  and  if  in  a  brotherly  sense  we  aid 
this  man  to  come  to  his  own,  we  therefore  set  up  a  standard 
for  the  lifting  of  the  whole  African  continent.  We  have 
among  ten  million  Germans  an  appropriation  of  $53,000  in  a 
year.  One  German  immigratn  cared  for  on  American  soil 
gives  us  sixty-three  thousand;  and  we  have  a  Bishop  from 
this  wing  of  the  Church  who  has  spoken  to  us  eloquently  this 
day,  and  an  overflow  of  more  than  thirty-seven  thousand  in 
Conferences  in  Europe.  Among  four  million  Scandinavians 
the  appropriation  is  $60,000.  One  Scandinavian  cared  for  in 
the  city  of  New  York  gives  us  an  outcome  of  twenty-eight 
thousand  sturdy  Scandinavians  organized  into  Methodist  Con- 
ferences, and  an  overflow  in  Europe  of  more  than  thirty 
thousand.  Two  and  a  half  millions  of  Spanish-Americans 
received  about  $50,000  appropriation;  and  four  million 
Italians,  the  work  just  beginning,  an  appropriation  of 
more  than  $50,000.  If  you  will  take  the  Japanese,  sev- 

156 


FORWARD  MARCH!— A  CALL  TO  ADVANCE. 

enty-five  thousand  of  them,  with  an  appropriation  of 
$30,000;  seventy-five  thousand  Chinese,  with  an  appropri- 
ation of  $20,000;  and  the  more  we  understand  about  these, 
we  come  to  regard  these  Orientals  from  the  East  the  more 
highly.  They  come  here  to  study  and  to  absorb  and  to  form, 
their  conclusions  concerning  present-day  Christianity  at  its 
best.  They  return  and  tell  us  to  wait  until  they  tell  their 
countrymen  their  impressions  of  our  American  Christianity. 
Those  are  the  missionaries  with  whom  we  have  to  reckon. 
If  you  will  take  the  Southwest,  that  will  grip  the  world.  It 
holds  the  waterways  that  are  to  feel  the  products  of  two 
hemispheres.  Our  own  acres  will  produce  abundant  crops 
for  the  Orient  and  thus  bind  us  closer  to  the  Far  East.  You 
take  the  Northwest,  pouring  out  its  harvests  by  the  way  of 
the  Golden  Gate,  pouring  out  its  products  for  the  sustenance 
of  the  Asiatics;  this  Pacific  Sea  is  certain  to  become  a  great 
American  Ocean.  We  only  see  yet  the  shadow  of  it ;  but  the 
time  certainly  is  coming  when  we  must  answer  the  question, 
What  shall  be  the  moral  and  spiritual  character  of  this  Nation 
as  effected  through  these  channels?  It  is  a  world  question. 
Let  us  answer  it  by  our  supply  of  Churches  and  preachers 
in  this  Northwest  and  on  these  far  frontiers.  If  you  will 
study  the  map  you  will  find  that  those  people  fronting  Asia 
are  paying  twice  per  capita  what  we  are  in  the  East,  and  they 
are  giving  about  twice  as  much  for,  the  other  fellow  as  we 
in  the  East  are  giving. 

There  is  no  time,  of  course,  to  tell  this  story,  but  as  you 
reinforce  this  Board  you  are  standing  by  an  organization 
that  faces  and  helps  to  solve  the  problems  that  you  face. 
It  is  the  uplift  of  this  country  that  means  the  salvation  of 
the  world.  O  men  qf  America,  who  turn  not  back  from  any 
material  enterprise,  no  matter  what  awful  front  it  wears,  to 
you  is  committed  the  biggest  man's  task  of  the  ages,  the  sal- 
vation of  America !  That  is  your  campaign.  A  nailed,  pierced 
Hand  points  the  way.  A  streaming,  blood-red  banner  tells 
where  the  Man  of  Nazareth  leads,  and  do  you  not  hear  His 

357 


MILITANT  METHODISM. 

militant  call,  "If  any  man  will  be  My  disciples,  let  him  take 
up  his  cross  and  follow  Me?"  0  men,  with  the  possibilities 
before  us,  and  our  appropriations  nearly  on  the  level  of  a  bare 
sustenance,  lacking  the  efficiency  that  we  ought  to  have,  let 
me  ask  you  this,  Is  it  not  time  that  because  of  financial  limi- 
tations you  no  longer  keep  this  Board  in  leash  ?  Loose  it  and 
let  it  go. 

C.  M.  BOSWELL. 

I  WOULD  rather  be  anywhere  else  just  now  than  on  this  plat- 
form to  make  a  speech.  It  is  pretty  hard  to  get  away  from 
the  thought  that  our  colleague,  Dr.  Robert  Forbes,  who  has 
been  with  us  in  so  many  glorious  campaigns,  was  this  day 
laid  in  his  grave.  I  can  not  help  feeling  that  had  he  been  here 
he  would  have  warmed  your  hearts  and  won  your  spirits  by 
the  presentation  of  this  cause.  I  am  asked  simply  to  speak 
a  word  in  regard  to  our  Board  and  the  American  city;  and 
through  that  we  trust  to  get  a  greater  support  for  the  cause 
we  represent. 

We  need  a  larger  support  because  of  the  great  responsi- 
bilities you  have  placed  upon  us  in  regard  to  the  American 
city.  A  little  while  ago  we  were  startled  with  a  statement 
in  the  Christian  Advocate  that  in  the  seventeen  large  Amer- 
ican cities  with  a  population  of  three  hundred  thousand 
and  over  we  have  less  than  five  per  cent  of  our  Methodism; 
and  in  the  two  hundred  and  twenty-eight  cities  with  a  popu- 
lation of  twenty-five  thousand  and  over  we  have  less  than 
fifteen  per  cent  of  our  Methodism ;  or,  in  other  words,  we  are 
out  of  the  cities.  Now,  I  do  not  know  whether  it  is  because 
of  reasons  sent  to  the  office  not  long  ago  like  this  or  not: 
We  have  been  sending  out  letters  asking  for  information 
regarding  rural  Churches.  This  answer  came  back:  "You 
have  tampered  with  the  city  Church  until  you  have  ruined 
it;  for  God's  sake  let  the  country  Church  alone."  I  do  not 
know  whether  that  is  the  reason  we  are  out  of  the  big  cities 
or  not,  but  we  are  out,  and  the  statesmanship  of  Methodism 

158 


FORWARD  MARCH !— A  CALL  TO  ADVANCE. 

is  being  concentrated  on  getting  into  those  great  Common- 
wealths. We  must  be  in  there,  and  get  the  population  to  get 
the  money  that  we  need  in  our  business,  to  get  control  of  the 
institutions  that  are  influencing  religion  and  other  things,  to 
get  religious  control  of  the  newspapers  that  are  wielding  power 
everywhere  throughout  the  land,  to  get  control  of  amuse- 
ments that  entertain  the  people,  to  get  the  influence  that  the 
big  city  wields  in  the  United  States  of  America  and  through 
the  world.  We  must  get  in  by  wise,  timely,  and  tested  methods 
and  agencies,  and  the  Board  of  Home  Missions  and  Church 
Extension  is  expected  to  co-operate  with  these  and  never  stop 
until  we  plant  our  flag  on  the  largest  and  most  influential 
of  the  Commonwealths  in  this  country.  To  do  this,  we  have 
to  get  back  of  the  city  missionaries.  There  are  many  of  them 
who  are  doing  work  in  American  cities,  and  if  I  can  believe 
the  reports  that  they  are  sending  into  our  office  now,  Meth- 
odism must  go  out  of  business  if  we  do  not  give  them  the 
money  they  seek.  Listen  to  me:  New  York,  supposedly  the 
richest  city  in  the  United  States,  with  over  five  million  peo- 
ple, one  million  and  over  from  foreign  lands,  sends  this 
word :  ' '  Give  us  twenty-five  thousand  for  New  York,  or  Meth- 
odism is  doomed."  Multiply  that  all  over  the  country,  and 
you  will  see  the  burden  you  have  given  the  men  who  are 
governing  the  affairs  of  the  Board  of  Home  Missions  in  its 
relation  to  cities. 

We  must  get  back  of  the  district  superintendents.  They 
are  the  key  to  the  situation  religiously,  as  far  as  Methodism 
is  concerned.  I  have  been  with  them  in  the  city  of  Portland, 
Ore.,  in  Tacoma  and  Seattle,  Wash.,  down  in  Atlanta,  Ga., 
and  the  cities  between,  and  I  have  been  with  these  men  when 
they  stepped  on  the  ground,  when  they  had  located  churches, 
planning  to  combine  structures  for  the  betterment  of  the 
work  that  a  Church  organization  ought  to  do,  and  when  they 
are  through,  they  turn  around  and  say,  "How  much  will  the 
Board  of  Home  Missions  and  Church  Extension  give  us?" 

We  are  co-operating  with  the  bishop.  Thank  God  that 

159 


MILITANT  METHODISM. 

these  men  under  the  new  regime  are  getting  the  American 
cities  with  their  varied  population  and  their  changing  condi- 
tions on  their  hearts.  They  are  studying  the  questions  as  to 
population,  as  to  progress,  and  as  to  needs,  and  when  they 
make  their  wants  known  to  the  Board  of  Home  Missions  and 
Church  Extension,  it  has  to  get  back  of  them  and  give  them 
just  as  much  money  as  it  can,  and  tell  them  to  go  ahead  and 
when  they  run  out  to  come  to  us  and  we  will  give  them  more. 
All  we  want  is  to  have  sufficient  funds  to  let  the  men  who 
are  our  leaders  go  into  these  cities  as  generals  of  an  army, 
meaning  business,  and  when  they  need  munitions  of  war,  give 
it  to  them,  provide  men,  build  churches,  plan  battles,  and  we 
will  back  them  up  until  we  win  every  place  we  see. 

We  want  to  get  back  of  the  new  Churches  getting  in  be- 
fore the  saloons;  put  up  the  Methodist  flag,  start  meetings, 
organize  a  school,  build  a  church,  and  enlist  soldiers  for  the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ.  Go  into  every  new  neighborhood  and  hold 
it  for  Christ,  for  Methodism,  and  for  man.  On  my  desk  in 
Philadelphia  there  is  a  paper  which  says  one  city  has  eighty- 
five  per  cent  foreign  population ;  another,  seventy-five  per  cent 
foreign ;  another,  fifty  per  cent  foreign ;  and  so  the  Board  of 
Home  Missions  is  getting  back  of  that  proposition,  establish- 
ing a  Church,  and  getting  a  man  that  can  speak  another  lan- 
guage than  the  English  and  putting  him  in  there  to  tell  the 
story  of  Jesus  and  His  love,  and  converting  the  stranger. 
Forty  thousand  dollars  goes  into  the  Italian  work.  Then,  the 
rescue  neighborhood  Church.  Methodism  can  not  forget  the 
pit  into  which  many  of  the  wayward  are  falling,  the  evil  of 
gambling  houses  and  other  places  of  vice.  We  are  in  this 
world  to  fight  sin,  and  to  fight  it  with  the  gospel  of  Jesus 
Christ,  and  I  know  of  no  better  place  to  do  it  than  to  go  to  a 
drinking  hall  in  a  tenderloin  district;  put  a  Methodist  min- 
ister in  there,  a  Methodist  singer,  and  a  Methodist  deaconess ; 
start  them  going,  and  they  will  tell  the  story  that  will 
regenerate  that  neighborhood.  In  the  city  of  Philadelphia, 
on  the  edge  of  the  tenderloin  district,  a  place  is  open  every 

160 


FORWARD  MARCH !— A  CALL  TO  ADVANCE. 

night  in  the  week,  and  fifteen  thousand  of  the  hardest  drinkers 
have  been  led  to  Jesus  Christ  through  this  place.  0,  the 
American  city !  What  an  appeal  it  makes !  Let  the  answer 
to  that  appeal  be,  "God  helping,  I  will  give  so  much  to  the 
Board  of  Home  Missions  and  Church  Extension  that  every 
city  may  be  supplied  with  money  to  bring  the  erring  to 
Christ." 

Advance  in  Foreign  Missions. 
W.  F.  OLDHAM. 

Brothers :  You  have  heard  many  eloquent  pleas  this  after- 
noon, and  are  to  hear  several  more  through  the  days  urging 
"Advance" — but  the  only  voice  distinctively  raised  on  be- 
half of  the  150,000,000  of  unevangelized  souls  committed  to 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  in  non-Christian  lands  is  the 
one  you  are  now  hearing.  The  Board  of  Education  and  of 
the  Freedmen's  Aid,  the  Board  of  Home  Missions  and  of 
Sunday  Schools,  except  for  some  recent  devisings,  and  all  the 
other  Boards  are  all  working  at  different  parts  of  the  same 
home  problems.  They  are  all  subdivisions  of  Home  Mis- 
sions. And  I  and  those  I  stand  for  rejoice  in  all  these  and 
would  have  them  doubled.  When  the  Board  of  Foreign  Mis- 
sions is  named,  that  is  the  agency  which  is  trying  single- 
handed  to  do  for  the  pagan  and  Moslem  and  semi-Christian 
world  what  all  of  these  others  unitedly  are  trying  to  do  for 
our  share  of  the  United  States  of  America.  And  if  a  high 
appreciation  and  gratitude  force  me  to  name  as  a  great  co- 
worker  of  the  Board  of  Foreign  Missions  the  Woman's 
Foreign  Missionary  Society,  it  would  be  necessary  also  to 
introduce  the  Woman 's  Home  Missionary  Society,  the  Church 
Deaconess  Board,  and  a  multitude  of  other  co-operative 
woman's  agencies  working  at  home.  With  this  in  mind  I 
present  at  once  the  cause  of  Foreign  Missions  under  the  three- 
fold aspect  of  their  reasons,  successes,  and  present  oppor- 
tunities. 

11  161 


MILITANT  METHODISM. 

I.    Why  should  there  be  any  call  at  all  to  Foreign  Mis- 
sionary endeavor? 

1.  The  obligation  of  obedience.    Whatever  other  reasons 
may  or  may  not  commend  themselves,  here  we  reach  bed-rock. 
Said  a  young  lieutenant  to  the  great  General  Wellington, 
"I  do  not  believe  in  this  new  enthusiasm  for  Foreign  Mis- 
sions."   Said  the  General,  "Sir,  what  are  the  marching  or- 
ders ? ' '    Soldiers  of  Christ,  I  read  to  you  the  marching  orders, 
"Go  ye  into  all  the  world  and  preach  the  gospel  to  every 
creature." 

2.  The  obligation  of  gratitude.    Remember  the  pit  out  of 
which  we  were  digged,  and  who  they  were  that  found  us. 
Foreign  missionaries  reached  us  when  our  forefathers  were 
wild  savages.    We  received  Christ  and  took  the  upward  path. 
Here  we  are.    What  was  done  for  us  we  owe  it  to  do  for 
others. 

3.  The  moral  condition  of  the  unevangelized  non-Christian 
world.    I  would  not  subtract  one  tittle  from  the  good  that  is 
found  in  alien  religions  and  among  alien  peoples.    The  great 
heart  of  God  loves  all  men,  and  the  mighty  power  of  the 
Holy   Spirit   ceaselessly   endeavors   to   illumine   all   people. 
Nevertheless,  making  all  concessions  and  giving  all  credits, 
the  condition  of  the  pagan  and  Moslem  world  may  be  char- 
acterized by  the  opening  words  of  Milton  on  his  own  blind- 
ness, "Dark — dark — dark."    Admitting  all  existent  values  in 
the  non-Christian  world,  yet  in  the  main  it  may  sadly  be  said 
that  manhood  is  without  rights ;  woman  is  practically  a  slave 
or  a  toy;  childhood  is  dwarfed  and  stunted  by  superstition 
and  ignorance.     Thirty  years  ago  I  saw  a  great  feast  at  a 
sacred  shrine  in  Mysore,  India,  at  which  were  gathered  per- 
haps a  thousand  mothers  with  their  children.     The  idol  god 
was  the  seven-headed  serpent,  representing  power.    Presently 
there  stepped  from  a  dark  recess  a  Brahmin  priest  bearing 
brass  trays  covered  with  chipped  eggs  and  small  pans  of 
milk.    He  rang  a  bell  as  he  placed  the  trays  before  the  idol, 
and  immediately  there  swarmed  into  view  scores  of  deadly 

162 


FORWARD  MARCH!— A  CALL  TO  ADVANCE. 

cobra  snakes  to  eat  the  offering.  Among  them  stood  the  priest 
unharmed.  I  saw  the  fright  in  the  onlooking  children's  eyes. 
The  mothers,  however,  were  gently  forcing  the  children  to 
bow  down  and  worship  the  gods — the  Brahmin  and  the  ser- 
pents. And  eighty  per  cent  of  Hindu  India  would  thus  have 
bowed  to  them.  The  Moslem  world  stands  over  against  us, 
howling  defiance,  practicing  slavery,  degrading  womanhood 
by  polygamy,  saying  our  Scriptures  are  garbled,  and  DENYING 
our  CHRIST  as  the  Divine  Son  of  God.  And  these  are  the  sun- 
lit peaks  of  the  pagan  world.  What  shall  I  say  of  the  cruel- 
ties and  the  sorrows  that  are  found  in  the  darker  areas  still? 
As  the  Great  Son  of  God  looks  down  upon  this  welter  of  sin 
and  cruelty  and  superstition,  can  you  not  see  the  breaking  of 
His  shepherd  heart  and  hear  Him  say,  ''Other  sheep  I  have 
that  are  not  of  this  fold — them  also  I  must  bring?" 

And  to  these,  their  deep  needs,  add  this  of  ours.  We  need 
to  see  world  problems.  We  need  Foreign  Missions  that  we 
may  have  wider  horizons.  Only  a  world-girdling  and  world- 
conquering  Church  has  in  it  a  real  dynamic,  a  potent  call, 
a  stirring  life.  It  has  been  well  and  truly  said,  "Whether 
the  heathen  will  be  lost  unless  we  come  or  not,  we  are  already 
lost  if  we  are  not  moved  to  go  or  send."  We  will  never  take 
America  if  we  do  not  bend  ourselves  to  take  the  world.  Only 
the  Christ-passion  in  us  will  enable  us  to  win  at  home.  We 
can  never  have  the  Christ-passion  if  we  refuse  the  Christ- 
vision. 

II.     The  successes  of  Foreign  Missions. 

Methodist  Missions  at  the  oldest  are  but  eighty  years  old, 
and  the  bulk  of  our  foreign  enterprise  is  from  fifty  to  sixty 
years  of  age.  The  agency  employed  has  been  comparatively 
small.  For  the  evangelization  of  the  150,000,000  assigned  us 
by  the  enlightened  and  deliberate  judgment  of  the  world's 
missionary  forum,  we  had  last  year  but  400  ordained 
foreign  missionaries  and  650  ordained  native  ministers — or 
about  1,050  in  all.  While  here  in  Indiana,  for  Methodism's 
proportion  of  the  three  millions  there  are  about  one  thousand 

163 


MILITANT  METHODISM. 

ordained  men.  The  ratio  of  agency  runs  about  one  hundred 
to  one.  Yet  this  slim  handful,  met  at  first  by  misunderstand- 
ing and  racial  prejudice,  by  open  opposition  and  stony  in- 
difference, has  kept  patiently,  steadily  at  work.  They  have 
had  but  about  a  brief  half  century.  During  that  time,  work- 
ing from  five  to  ten  thousand  miles  from  home,  contending 
with  strange  languages  and  stranger  customs,  debilitated  by 
unfavorable  climates,  harassed  by  disease,  criticised  abroad 
and  till  lately  often  sneered  at  at  home,  they  have  overcome 
initial  difficulties,  broken  through  the  apathy  of  great  masses 
of  ignorance,  have  withstood  the  organized  opposition  of 
aroused  priesthoods  and  the  militant  frenzy  of  persecuting 
fanatics.  In  the  face  of  mobs  and  riots,  of  revolutions  and 
wars,  and  above  all,  in  spite  of  powerfully  intrenched  re- 
ligious and  hoary  superstitions,  they  have  inaugurated 
changes,  they  have  altered  civilizations,  they  have  witnessed 
the  reformation  of  peoples  and  the  rebirth  of  nations;  they 
have  planted  schools  and  school  systems;  they  have  built 
churches  and  established  Christian  homes  and  Christian  wor- 
ship, and  have  already  gathered  in  a  membership  who  number 
one-tenth  of  the  whole  Methodist  Episcopal  Church.  Behold, 
what  hath  God  wrought!  If  ever  there  was  written  a  page 
that  speaks  at  once  the  divinity  of  our  faith  and  the  virility 
of  our  Methodism,  it  is  the  record  of  our  foreign  missionary 
achievement. 

In  nominally  Christian  lands  have  been  planted  Churches 
of  such  evangelical  fidelity  and  aggressive  methods  as  to  com- 
mand the  esteem  and  quicken  the  life  of  all  around  them,  and 
in  the  pagan  world  what  marvels  have  been  wrought !  Japan 
has  launched  her  autonomous  Methodism.  Korea  shows,  per- 
haps, the  most  aggressive  Church  of  personal  Christian  work- 
ers in  the  world.  Malaysia  exhibits  a  program  of  effective 
social  help  largely  self-supporting,  hard  to  parallel.  Africa 
emerges  in  part  from  the  darkness  of  the  ages  and  is  pierced 
with  shafts  of  light.  India  turns  away  from  her  myriad  gods 
and  adds  30,000  baptized  Christians  to  Methodist  ranks  this 

104 


FORWARD  MARCH !— A  CALL  TO  ADVANCE. 

very  year.  China,  great  China,  thrills  with  new  life  and  pub- 
licly holds  out  beseeching  hands,  saying,  "Pray  for  us,  0 
Christians;  we  long  to  find  our  way  into  the  light."  In  the 
span  of  a  single  lifetime  has  come  a  change  which  betokens 
the  approaching  rebirth  of  half  a  world.  And  while  not  we 
alone  but  all  the  great  Churches  of  Christendom  have  brought 
this  about,  Methodism  has  had  a  large  and  commanding  place 
in  the  program,  under  the  direction  of  what  Dr.  Harlan  P. 
Beach,  of  Yale,  terms  "one  of  the  greatest  missionary  organi- 
zations on  earth,  ' '  the  Board  of  Foreign  Missions  of  the  Meth- 
odist Episcopal  Church. 

III.  But,  brothers,  great  successes  bring  great  obligations, 
and  often  still  greater  opportunities.  And  the  call  of  com- 
manding opportunity  is  now  added  to  that  of  appealing  need. 
I  name  only  a  few  of  the  outstanding  opportunities: 

1.  The  Mediterranean  basin  is  the  theater  of  a  new  life 
and  the  scene  of  a  most  dramatic  and  fateful  contest  for  em- 
pire over  the  souls  of  millions  of  men.    Here  Islam,  jostled  out 
of  the  complacency  and  self-sufficiency  of  thirteen  centuries, 
develops  a  new  spirit  of  inquiry.    North  Africa  and  Southern 
Europe  are  both  involved.    Ours  is  no  part  in  carnal  military 
or  commercial  contention,  but  the  call  is  for  the  planting  of 
those  ideas  and  the  proclamation  of  that  gospel  which  assures 
renewal  of  life  and  permanence  of  progress.    How  manifestly 
opportunity  beckons  to  Hartzell  in  Africa  and  to  Nuelsen  in 
Southern  and  Southeastern  Europe!    How  shall  they  answer? 
They  wait  to  hear.    Will  this  Convention,  speaking  for  Meth- 
odism, say:  "Go  forward.     Take  opportunity  at  the  flood. 
We  are  with  you.    Advance  f" 

2.  Here  are  the  Latin  lands — our  neighbors  and  some  our 
wards.    What  are  we  to  say  to  Butler,  who  comes  out  of  Mex- 
ico City,  where,  after  forty  years,  only  recently  "stormed  at 
with  shot  and  shell,  bravely  he  stood  and  well,"  and,  in  com- 
pany with  his  bishop,  quietly  caring  for  the  interests  of  the 
mission?    And  what  word  have  we  for  the  eloquent  and  force- 
ful leader  of  South  America?    What  shall  we  do  with  the 

165 


MILITANT  METHODISM. 

new  opportunity  that  opens  on  both  banks  of  the  Panama 
Canal  and  among  those  potent  States  that  we  must  link  up 
in  closer  unison  of  heart  and  democratic  purpose?  Shall 
not  Methodism  say  to  Stuntz  and  to  Eveland,  in  that  gloriously 
successful  mission  under  our  own  flag  in  the  far  Pacific,  "No 
more  hesitation  and  parley — Forward!  The  Church  orders 
are,  'Advance!' ' 

3.  India  and  its  dependencies  are  rocked  with  spiritual 
stress  and  agony  of  soul.     That  great,  passionate,  religious 
heart  is  strangely  stirred  by  the  manifest  and  felt  presence 
of  her  Lord — the  Light  of  Asia  and  of  the  world.    No  greater 
religious  opportunity  has  been  put  before  the  Church  since 
Methodism  was  founded.     The  opportunity  in  India  is  to 
actually  gather  into  Methodist  membership  a  million  converts 
in  ten  years  if  the  right  word  be  sincerely  spoken  here.    These 
numberless  thousands  are  now  being  held  back.    Let  us  but 
say  to  the  gallant  leaders  Warne  and  the  Robinsons:    "Let 
the  people-  come  in.    School,  preach,  baptize,  Church — go  for- 
ward.   We  '11  stand  by.    More  men,  more  means  are  on  the 
way."    What  a  shout  would  answer  that  word !    "Jai  Prathu 
Jesu,"  "Victory  to  Jesus,"  would  be  sung  by  tens  of  thou- 
sands of  new  voices  in  a  few  brief  years.     The  glories  of 
Pentecost  would  be  revived,  but  over  wider  areas  and  under 
ampler  skies. 

4.  And  China!    Who  can  gauge  the  size  of  opportunity 
as  it  is  written  over  the  portals  of  that  greatest  gate  ever 
opened  for  the  gospel  to  the  hearts  of  men  ?    0  brothers !  what 
word  shall  we  send  Bashford  and  Lewis,  those  two  great 
hearts  who  face  a  continent,  bearing  burdens  beyond  human 
strength  to  carry  ?    There  they  are,  with  strategic  union  edu- 
cational projects,  in  which  Methodism  is  shamed  by  not  being 
able  to  do  her  part  and  meet  her  share.    Hospitals  there  are 
without  doctors,  and  schools  without  principals,  vast  stirring 
areas  without  missionaries,  preachers,  and  leaders.    A  great 
nation  conies  to  a  new  day.    In  the  midst  of  it  stand  these 
mighty  men  of  God,  loved,  honored,  trusted,  implicitly  fol- 

166 


FORWARD  MARCH !— A  CALL  TO  ADVANCE. 

lowed,  and  yet  in  this  home  of  tremendous  opportunity,  in  a 
situation  which  beggars  all  description,  when  the  Presbyterians 
are  sending  one  hundred  new  missionaries,  and  when  all  the 
other  Churches  are  devising  larger  things,  Methodism,  whose 
impact  has  been  strongest,  whose  fruitage  is  largest,  Meth- 
odism is  not  sending  a  single  added  male  missionary  on  its 
regular  budget.  And  what  is  more,  the  bishops  write  that 
unless  $32,000  are  added  to  their  budget  this  year  they  must 
send  home  several  missionaries,  for  they  positively  refuse  to 
incur  any  debt. 

I  cease  specifying.  The  fact  is,  we  are  in  the  midst  of  the 
greatest  movements  of  all  time.  Christianity  began  in  Pales- 
tine, and  was  in  danger  of  being  merely  the  cult  of  a  small 
Syrian  lake.  Its  foreign  missionary  passion  burst  through 
those  earliest  bonds  and  carried  it  a  conquering  force  to  the 
Mediterranean  basin.  Thence  it  sped  its  forceful  missionary 
way  through  Europe  and  gallantly  flung  itself  across  the  wide 
ocean  till  it  occupied  the  north  Atlantic  shores.  Now,  in  this 
latest  day,  comes  the  last  challenge  and  the  greatest.  The 
mightiest  ocean,  the  Pacific,  fronts  us  with  great  lands  and 
great  races — for  Christ.  These  lands,  already  moved  by  the 
loving  efforts  of  Christendom,  are  being  stirred  to  the  depths. 
All  life  wakes  to  nobler  ideals.  Home  life,  intellectual  life, 
life  social,  industrial,  and  political,  are  all  in  ferment.  The 
crowning  day  towards  which  all  the  days  have  worked  is  at 
hand.  Our  Christ  comes  to  His  final  enthronement  when  He 
shall  be  declared  Lord  of  lords  and  King  of  kings.  What 
does  opportunity  like  this  call  for,  my  Brothers,  on  our  wide- 
flung  mission  frontiers?  We  are  starving  our  institutions, 
we  are  overweighting  our  men.  There  sits  in  our  midst  a  mis- 
sionary district  superintendent  trying  to  struggle  back  to  life 
and  health.  His  was  a  district  of  60,000  square  miles,  with  a 
population  of  eighteen  millions.  On  the  failure  of  his  neigh- 
bor's health  there  was  added  to  him  the  oversight  of  a  second 
district;  to  these  later,  a  chaplaincy.  Why?  Because  the 
Board  could  not  send  more  help.  He  nearly  died  under  the 

167 


MILITANT  METHODISM. 

pressure.  He  did  nervously  collapse.  And  all  over  the  fields 
men  are  being  crowded  to  the  last  ounce  of  their  strength. 
Everywhere  is  comparative  arrest  of  movement  because  of 
poor  equipment  and  because  the  existing  agencies  have  gone 
as  far  as  they  can. 

What  shall  be  the  words  of  this  Convention  and  of  the 
great  Church  behind  this  Convention  to  these  resolute  but 
overburdened  men  in  this  greatest  day  of  all  time?  We  will 
be  true  to  our  heritage  and  our  traditions.  In  the  name  of 
John  Wesley,  who  started  us  with  the  great  motto,  "The 
world  is  my  parish,"  and  of  Coke,  our  first  great  missionary 
bishop,  whose  dead  body  touches  every  shore,  pledge  of  the 
coming  of  his  successors  to  help  occupy  and  redeem  the  lands 
— but,  above  all,  in  the  name  of  our  Divine  Redeemer,  "who 
by  the  grace  of  God  tasted  death  for  every  man,"  and 
bade  His  Church  in  its  earliest  hours  of  insignificance  and 
weakness  to  "Go  disciple  all  nations" — hearing  the  voices 
that  call  to  us  from  the  historic  past,  from  the  wide  spaces 
of  earth,  and  from  heaven  above,  will  not  this  Convention 
answer  back  so  our  word  will  reach  a  waiting  world  and  an 
expectant  heaven,  saying,  "We  hear  the  call  and  by  the 
grace  of  God  we  pledge  ourselves  to  heed  the  call  and  advance 
the  work  of  a  world's  redemption  ? "  In  the  name  of  the  Lord, 
"Go  Forward." 


168 


H.  THE  CALL  OF  SOCIETY  AND  STATE. 


American  Cities  and  the  City  of  God. 
WILLIAM  F.  ANDERSON. 

IN  the  city  is  the  crisis  of  national  life  the  wide  world  round, 
and  as  goes  the  city  so  goes  the  Nation.  One  of  our  leaders 
has  written  a  significant  volume,  entitled  "The  City  the 
Hope  of  Democracy."  I  came  upon  it  for  the  first  time 
a  little  while  ago,  after  my  pathway  had  led  me  through 
the  red-light  district  of  my  own  city.  I  said  to  myself,  "If 
this  which  I  have  seen  is  the  city,  and  if  the  city  is  the  hope 
of  Democracy,  then  God  pity  democracy."  My  inference 
would  be  perfectly  correct  if  in  the  red-light  district  of  the 
city  we  found  the  best  features  of  the  life  of  the  city.  I  am 
glad  to  believe,  however,  that  this  is  not  the  case.  You  will 
remember  Burke 's  definition  of  the  State.  He  declared  that 
the  State  is  a  partnership  in  life  representing  all  the  inter- 
ests of  its  members. 

It  is  encouraging  that  among  civic  leaders  in  this  country 
and  in  other  parts  of  the  world  there  has  been  during  the 
last  twenty  or  twenty-five  years  a  remarkable  quickening  of 
effort  to  make  the  city  a  partnership  in  the  life  and  interests 
of  the  people.  I  wish  to  bring  you  two  or  three  notable 
instances.  A  few  months  ago,  I  picked  up  one  morning  in 
the  city  of  London,  the  London  Times,  and  I  found  a  very 
interesting  article  concerning  a  municipal  movement  in  the 
city  of  Edinburgh,  looking  toward  the  better  housing  of  the 
poor  in  that  favored  municipality.  With  characteristic  Amer- 
ican nerve,  I  wrote  to  the  Lord  Mayor  and  told  him  that  I 
was  to  be  in  his  city  in  a  few  days,  and  should  esteem  it  a 
very  great  favor  if  he  would  put  me  in  the  way  of  infor- 

169 


MILITANT  METHODISM. 

mation  as  to  that  movement.  He  replied  promptly,  stat- 
ing he  had  handed  my  letter  to  the  chief  of  the  Health  De- 
partment, and  further,  if  on  arrival  in  Edinburgh  I  would 
notify  that  gentleman,  he  would  be  glad  to  receive  me  and 
give  me  the  information  desired. 

Upon  my  arrival  in  Edinburgh,  I  wrote  to  that  gentleman 
and  made  an  engagement  to  call  at  his  office.  He  told  me 
about  the  work  that  had  been  going  on,  and  then  after  we 
had  talked  for  an  hour  in  his  office,  he  said:  "Come  along 
with  me;  I  want  to  show  you  what  has  actually  been  done." 
We  walked  along  for  a  few  blocks  and  passed  a  certain  build- 
ing. He  said:  "A  few  weeks  ago  there  were  thirty-six 
hundred  people  housed  in  this  single  building.  Now  there 
is  not  a  human  being  within  its  walls. ' '  We  went  on  further 
and  he  showed  me  the  modern,  sanitary  buildings  that  were 
erected  under  municipal  direction  for  the  housing  of  the  poor, 
and  stated  that  the  city  undertook  to  make  about  four  per 
cent  profit  out  of  that  enterprise.  I  said  to  him,  "Well, 
Doctor,  how  long  have  you  been  engaged  in  this  kind  of 
work  ? ' '  He  answered  promptly,  ' '  For  fifteen  years. "  "  How 
many  houses  have  you  condemned  as  uninhabitable  in  the 
course  of  a  year?"  He  replied,  "Certainly,  hundreds  of 
them."  But  I  said,  "Without  any  respect  at  all  as  to  the 
ownership  of  the  property?"  "Certainly,"  he  answered, 
' '  without  the  slightest  respect  to  the  question  of  ownership. ' ' 
Then  I  said,  "I  should  like  to  ask  if  in  your  experience  of 
fifteen  years  the  thought  of  graft  has  even  been  suggested?" 
"Graft,  graft?"  he  queried;  "I  do  not  know  that  word.  Is 
that  an  American  word?"  I  was  sorry  to  have  to  confess 
that  it  is.  Then  I  replied,  "Now,  in  your  condemnation  pro- 
ceedings of  this  large  number  of  houses,  has  the  suggestion 
ever  been  made  to  you  by  any  one,  that  if  you  would  pass 
by  certain  houses  belonging  to  certain  prominent  citizens, 
they  would  make  it  a  consideration  for  you  ? ' '  He  said,  ' '  Not 
at  all,  not  at  all,  not  for  a  moment.  No  citizen  of  this  munici- 
pality would  insult  me  in  that  fashion." 

170 


FORWARD  MARCH!— A  CALL  TO  ADVANCE. 

This  is  no  isolated  case.  This  Christian  conception  of  the 
city,  making  it  a  partnership  among  its  people,  has  spread 
throughout  the  world.  Let  me  bring  you  some  very  inter- 
esting statistics.  Among  the  fifty  leading  cities  of  Great 
Britain,  thirty-nine  own  their  own  water-plants;  twenty-one 
own  their  own  gas  supply;  forty-four  their  own  electrical 
supply,  and  forty-two  their  tramways.  In  Germany  the 
average  is  higher.  Out  of  fifty  leading  cities  of  Germany 
forty-eight  own  their  own  water  supply,  fifty  their  gas  plants, 
forty-two  their  electrical  plants,  and  twenty-three  their  tram- 
ways. This  idea  of  the  city  is  more  and  more  impressing 
itself  upon  civic  leaders  in  our  own  land.  Among  the  cities 
of  this  land  there  is  a  call  to  real  patriotism  which  the  lead- 
ing citizens  of  these  great  municipalities  are  recognizing  as 
never  before.  There  is  in  St.  Louis  a  young  man,  a  college 
graduate,  worth  thirty  millions,  who  devotes  his  energies  as 
Park  Commissioner  to  the  city's  welfare.  The  Superintendent 
of  Parks  in  that  city  is  authority  for  the  statement  that  it 
is  not  an  unusual  thing  for  him  to  be  on  the  job  in  the  park 
at  six  in  the  morning,  and  for  the  munificent  reward  of  two 
hundred  and  fifty  dollars  per  month.  How  is  that  for  a  man 
who  is  worth  thirty  millions? 

Now  it  is  unfortunate  that  the  progress  of  the  Church  has 
not  kept  pace  with  this  development  in  civic  affairs.  Amer- 
ican Christianity  has  not  been  grappling  the  saving  of  the 
down-town  portion  of  the  city  as  it  ought  to  be  doing.  We 
have  found  ourselves  very  frequently  excusing  ourselves.  In 
what  contrast  are  we  with  the  English  Wesleyans?  They 
plant  themselves  right  down  in  the  most  thickly  populated 
part  of  a  great  city  in  a  way  that  is  impressive  and  masterful 
nnd  in  a  way  that  commands  attention,  and  they  are  solving 
the  problem  of  the  saving  of  the  city  in  Great  Britain  perhaps 
as  Methodists  are  doing  nowhere  else  in  the  world.  When  we 
have  contrasted  our  conditions  with  theirs,  the  common  an- 
swer has  been,  "0  well,  our  conditions  are  different."  Of 
course  they  are  different;  that  they  are  more  intricate  we 

171 


MILITANT  METHODISM. 

must  concede  by  virtue  of  the  fact  that  instead  of  having  to 
take  the  gospel  to  one  language  only,  we  have  to  take  it  to 
men  of  many  languages ;  but  when  the  problem  of  the  differ- 
ent languages  is  solved,  our  work  is  no  more  difficult  than 
theirs.  Every  earnest  approach  which  we  have  made  to  the 
foreign-speaking  populations  has  been  abundantly  rewarded. 
Countless  thousands  from  all  parts  of  the  world  are  eager  for 
the  gospel  message.  Here  is  a  field  which  is  white  to  the 
harvest.  God  help  us  both  to  see  and  to  improve  the  great 
opportunity ! 

Just  what  is  our  problem?  Let  us  come  to  it  in  a  rather 
indirect  fashion.  Whenever  any  side  of  the  life  of  a  man 
becomjes  stronger  than  his  moral  and  spiritual  life,  he  begins 
to  deteriorate  and  decay,  ceasing  to  be  a  man  and  becoming 
a  mere  thing.  What  is  true  of  the  life  of  the  individual 
is  true  of  the  community,  municipality,  or  Commonwealth. 
Whenever  any  side  of  a  city's  life  becomes  stronger  than 
its  moral  and  spiritual  side,  it  is  facing  towards  paganism1. 
Now,  the  city  represents  intensity  of  life  as  nothing  else  does, 
and  the  problem  that  rests  upon  the  Church  of  God  is  the  mak- 
ing of  the  moral  and  the  religious  life  of  our  cities  stronger 
than  their  business,  their  political,  their  intellectual,  their 
social  life.  It  is  the  business  of  the  Church  of  the  living  God 
to  permeate  all  of  these  aspects  of  the  life  of  our  modern  cities 
and  to  mold  them  in  the  fashion  of  the  divine  ideal  of  life. 
You  say  that  is  a  terrific  problem,  and  I  grant  it  is,  and  you 
say  that  is  too  much  to  be  expected  of  the  Church  of  God.  I 
tell  you  no.  The  Church  must  do  that  or  else  it  must  confess 
failure  and  go  at  last  out  of  business. 

Now  the  fact  is  that  we  must  get  at  this  problem  in  a 
larger  way.  We  must  attack  it  in  bigger  fashion.  We  have 
been  content  to  make  a  fairly  good  impression  in  some  spo- 
radic communities.  It  is  the  business  of  the  Church  to  take 
hold  of  the  entire  problem.  I  do  not  know  better  how  to  bring 
to  you  the  thought  that  I  have  in  mind  than  by  a  very  inter- 
esting historic  incident  in  connection  with  the  great  metropolis 

172 


FORWARD  MARCH!— A  CALL  TO  ADVANCE. 

of  this  country.  Among  the  men  interested  in  the  redemption 
of  New  York  City,  who  have  been  giving  their  best  study  and 
efforts  to  it,  is  the  Rev.  Bishop  David  H.  Greer,  of  the  Prot- 
estant Episcopal  Church.  You  know  the  Episcopalians  re- 
ceived large  grants  many  years  ago  that  have  made  them 
occupy  a  very  advantageous  position.  Bishop  Greer  has 
studied  the  problem  with  deep  earnestness.  Ab^ve  the  Har- 
lem River,  he  found  that  in  the  last  ten  years  the  population 
had  increased  nearly  forty  per  cent.  There  were  great  busi- 
ness blocks  devoted  to  money-making.  Every  here  and  there 
was  a  great  temple  erected  for  the  gratification  of  the  love  of 
pleasure  so  characteristic  of  the  people  of  to-day.  He  said, 
"If  we  do  not  get  into  this  game  in  larger  fashion,  the  first 
thing  we  know  the  Borough  of  the  Bronx  will  become  pagan." 
So  he  began  to  think  about  what  he  could  do  to  relieve  the 
situation.  He  said,  "If  I  can  find  ten  men  in  the  Protestant 
Episcopal  Church  who  will  give  me  each  $10,000  for  the  re- 
demption of  the  Bronx,  I  can  do  something  worth  while." 
The  more  he  thought  of  it,  the  more  that  seemed  to  him  a 
practicable  proposition.  He  put  at  the  head  of  the  list  the 
name  of  a  great  banker  down  in  Wall  Street.  He  said,  "It 
is  hardly  worth  while  for  me  to  speak  to  that  man;  I  know 
I  will  get  his  check,  but  some  day  I  will  step  in  and  tell  him 
that  I  have  put  him  down  for  $10,000."  One  morning,  being 
in  the  region  of  that  banking  establishment,  he  sent  in  his 
card  and  was  ushered  into  the  private  office  of  the  president, 
who  soon  came  in  and  with  cordial  greeting  said,  "I  am 
glad  to  see  you,  Bishop  Greer;  if  there  is  anything  I  can  do 
for  you  I  shall  be  very  happy  indeed."  Said  the  bishop: 
"I  will  come  directly  to  my  point.  I  have  boon  studying  con- 
ditions in  the  Bronx.  We  Episcopalians  are  not  doing  what 
we  ought  to  be  doing  up  there.  If  we  could  raise  $100,000 
we  could  do  better.  And  I  have  conceived  that  there  are  or 
ought  to  be  ten  leading  Episcopalian  business  men  who  would 
give  me  $10,000  each.  I  have  put  your  name  at  the  head 
of  the  list."  The  banker  said:  "No,  you  will  have  to  excuse 

173 


MILITANT  METHODISM. 

me.  I  am  not  interested  in  that  proposition."  "What?" 
said  the  bishop;  "I  did  put  a  question  mark  in  my  mind 
after  some  of  these  names,  but  not  after  yours."  "No," 
said  the  banker,  "I  am  not  interested."  The  bishop  began 
to  think  how  he  could  get  away  with  as  little  embarrass- 
ment as  possible  to  his  friend  and  himself,  when  the  banker 
said:  "I  will  tell  you,  Bishop  Greer,  the  kind  of  a  propo- 
sition I  would  be  interested  in.  I  have  been  looking  over 
conditions  in  the  Bronx.  What  is  $100,000  for  the  Episco- 
palians to  give  for  the  redemption  of  the  Bronx.  If  you 
had  started  out  to  find  ten  men  who  would  give  you  each 
$100,000  for  the  redemption  of  the  Bronx  I  should  be  in- 
terested in  that  sort  of  a  proposition.  That  would  command 
my  respect."  And  the  bishop  grasped  him  by  the  hand 
and  said,  "Thank  God  for  a  layman  who  has  such  a  vision 
of  the  building  of  the  Kingdom  as  that."  And  the  banker 
continued,  "What  is  more,  Bishop  Greer,  if  you  are  in- 
terested sufficiently  in  this  proposition  and  it  appeals  to 
you,  I  will  give  a  day  in  the  near  future  and  go  with  you 
and  we  will  see  if  we  can  not  find  the  other  nine  Episcopalians 
who  will  give  each  $100,000  for  the  redemption  of  the  Bronx." 
A  friend  of  mine  told  me  that  one  of  the  bishops  of  the 
Protestant  Episcopal  Church  told  him  that  he  saw  Bishop 
Greer  with  eight  checks  for  $100,000  each  in  his  hand  and  two 
letters  from  responsible  business  men  in  that  communion  in- 
viting him  to  call  at  their  offices  and  saying  that  they  would 
be  glad  to  draw  their  checks  for  that  amount  any  day  he  would 
come  in.  I  have  been  trying  to  imagine  what  a  bishop  would 
feel  like  with  a  lot  of  papers  like  that  in  his  hand,  and  I  am 
authorized  to  say  to  you  in  behalf  of  my  colleagues  that  every 
one  of  them  would  like  to  have  that  sensation.  And  if  the 
laymen  of  Methodism  will  put  into  the  hands  of  every  bishop 
of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  $1,000,000  for  city  redemp- 
tion, some  things  will  be  happening  in  this  country  and  the 
wide  world  around  that  will  make  glad  the  hearts  of  men 
and  of  angels. 

174 


FORWARD  MARCH!— A  CALL  TO  ADVANCE. 

Now,  ray  brethren,  I  do  not  believe  that  we  can  ever  hope 
to  win  in  this  contest  simply  according  to  the  old  methods. 
The  old  introspective  conception  of  Christianity  is  not  big 
enough  to  meet  the  demands  of  this  day.  We  have  a  gospel 
that  inel"«fa«  **»*  wfrole  Mfa  QJ  J"*^  an(^  we  must  preach 
it  in  its  entirety.  A  few  years  ago  I  was  pastor  of  a  down- 
town Church  close  to  the  Judson  Memorial  Church,  estab- 
lished by  that  good  man,  Dr.  Edward  Judson.  The  Institu- 
tional Church  was  then  a  somewhat  new  development.  One 
day,  soon  after  beginning  my  pastorate,  I  said  to  him, 
"Dr.  Judson,  will  you  characterize  in  a  word  or  two  the 
chief  features  of  the  Institutional  Church?"  Said  he,  "It 
is  simply  a  Church  of  organized  kindnesses  to  the  individual. ' ' 
I  tell  you,  my  friends,  the  Church  that  gives  itself  in  or- 
ganized kindnesses  to  the  individual  is  the  Church  against 
which  hell  itself  will  not  be  able  to  stand.  Note  the  putting 
of  it  in  the  Gospel  according  to  St.  Mark :  "And  He  ordained 
twelve,  that  they  should  be  with  Him  and  that  He  might 
send  them  forth  to  preach  and  to  have  power  to  heal  sick- 
nesses and  to  cast  out  devils."  Here  we  have  the  inspiration 
and  the  method  of  Christian  evangelization.  The  inspiration 
— presence  with  Christ  Himself;  the  method — prophecy  and 
philanthropy,  evangelism  and  every-day  brotherhood  linked  in 
noble  balance.  By  this  method,  with  this  inspiration,  through 
the  power  of  the  Lion  of  the  tribe  of  Judah,  the  cities  of 
America  shall  become  the  city  of  our  God,  and  the  kingdoms 
of  the  earth  shall  become  the  Kingdom  of  our  Lord  and  of 
His  Christ. 

The  Call  to  Civic  Righteousness. 
ADNA  W.  LEONARD. 

THAT  there  is  a  summons  to  civic  righteousness  is  included  in 
the  very  wording  of  the  subject,  and  that  there  is  need  of 
civic  righteousness  no  intelligent  person  will  question  for 
one  moment.  Great  as  has  been  the  history  of  our  Nation, 

175 


MILITANT  METHODISM. 

marvelous  as  has  been  the  achievement  of  the  immediate  past 
in  social  work  and  in  social  affairs,  there  is  still  a  loud,  clear 
call  to  civic  righteousness  in  this  Nation. 

The  sky  of  our  political  life  is  not  without  clouds.  We 
can  but  mention  a  few.  There  is  political  corruption.  Not 
so  much  perhaps  as  some  pessimistic  folk  may  declare,  but 
that  there  is  commercialism  in  politics  no  one  will  deny. 
There  is  a  cloud  in  the. National  sky.  There  is  not  yet  com- 
plete independence  for  the  voter ;  the  independent  voice  of  the 
voter  is  not  yet  clearly  heard,  for  vast  numbers  of  people  do 
not  cast  their  votes  with  independent  judgment.  They  cast 
their  votes  at  the  dictates  of  the  boss  and  the  politician.  Great 
as  has  been  the  history  of  our  public  school  system,  we  are 
sometimes  appalled  at  the  vast  volume  of  ignorance  that  is 
abroad  in  our  land. 

Not  all  of  us  have  descended  from  Anglo-Saxon  ancestors. 
Not  all  of  our  people  have  come  from  those  nations  that  have 
achieved  the  true  standard  of  self-government.  And  increas- 
ingly large  numbers  of  people  know  not  what  it  means  to 
.live  in  liberty  under  restraint  of  law.  Great  cities  have 
come  into  existence.  We  have  seen  them  grow.  And  with 
their  growth  there  has  come  the  unsanitary  slum — men, 
women,  and  children  dying  prematurely. 

Then  there  is  yet  another  cloud  in  the  sky.  Little  chil- 
dren are  being  robbed  of  their  childhood  with  a  robbery  that 
is  truly  cruel.  Girls  and  women  are  compelled  to  work,  not 
only  in  physical  environment  that  causes  the  outbreaking 
of  terrible  diseases,  but  in  moral  environment  in  our  factories 
and  mills  and  stores  that  too  often  exposes  the  white  flower  of 
American  womanhood  to  moral  peril  enough  to  make  the 
lightest  heart  sad  and  the  stoutest  quake  with  fear.  There 
are  in  this  country  of  ours  vast  problems.  The  city  becomes 
a  forcing  bed  where  every  vice  grows  into  abnormal  propor- 
tions. Here  we  find  too  often  our  system  of  justice  a 
system  of  injustice,  so  that  every  now  and  then  poverty 
becomes  a  crime,  while  the  rich  man,  though  a  criminal,  is 

176 


FORWARD  MARCH !— A  CALL  TO  ADVANCE. 

given  his  liberty.  I  can  not  pause  beyond  the  mere  mention 
of  these  subjects.  Suffice  it  to  say  that  if  the  problems  are 
to  be  solved,  it  will  be  necessary  to  create  wholesome  public 
opinion  for  civic  righteousness.  Mr.  Bryce  has  said  that  public 
opinion  is  the  conscience  of  nations.  It  is  in  two  forms. 
Crystallized  public  opinion  is  statutory  law.  It  marks  the 
ethical  advance  of  a  community  or  a  nation.  There  is  another, 
and  that  is  the  liquid  form  of  public  opinion ;  it  is  ever  supple- 
menting, ever-changing,  ever  making  its  inroad  on  statutory 
law.  Abraham  Lincoln  said  that  if  you  would  change  the  law 
of  the  land,  you  ought  to  change  public  opinion,  and  you 
change  the  law  in  proportion  as  you  change  opinion.  In  order 
that  we  may  have  wholesome  public  opinion  three  factors  are 
essential.  These  are  the  pulpit,  the  pew,  and  the  press.  Let 
us  consider  them. 

By  the  pulpit  I  mean  the  Christian  ministry.  The  man 
with  a  true  vision  of  the  ministry  will  know  that  he  must 
preach  the  gospel  with  all  the  passion  of  a  moral  physician, 
for  he  knows  that  sin  is  a  deadly  curse  and  not  a  mere  term 
of  the  school  men.  And  the  average  man  will  go  to  church, 
not  that  he  may  hear  some  particular  philosophy  or  some 
literature  or  the  history  of  some  poem,  but  he  goes  into  the 
church  of  the  living  God  because  he  is  hungry  for  the  bread 
of  life.  Alas  for  the  ministry  or  the  minister  that  gives  to 
the  hungry  soul  a  stone  when  he  asks  for  bread!  Now,  I 
recognize  the  fact  that  all  the  methods  of  the  past  can  not 
be  used  in  the  present.  The  gospel  of  Jesus  Christ,  like  our 
Divine  Lord,  is  the  same  yesterday,  to-day  and  forever,  though 
it  is  progressive.  The  methods  of  yesterday  can  not  be  em- 
ployed in  the  work  of  to-day  in  the  Church  of  God,  any  more 
than  the  methods  of  yesterday  in  the  business  house  can  be 
employed  in  the  business  house  to-day  with  the  maximum  of 
success.  We  are  living  in  days  of  momentous  changes.  And 
the  minister  of  the  gospel  of  Jesus  Christ  owes  it  to  his  day 
and  generation  not  only  to  interest  himself  in  all  the  prob- 
lems of  the  times,  but  to  be  in  sympathy  with  every  throb  and 
it  177 


MILITANT  METHODISM. 

pulsebeat  of  society  that  makes  for  the  uplift  of  mankind. 
Therefore  he  can  not  be  silent  when  he  comes  to  the  great 
subject  of  social  service,  when  it  comes  to  the  great  subject 
of  the  congested  district  of  great  cities.  He  can  not  be  silent 
in  the  presence  of  that  awful  problem,  the  un-American 
saloon.  He  can  not  be  silent  in  the  presence  of  any  moral 
problem  that  is  sapping  away  the  life  of  the  people.  He  must 
be  in  smypathy  with  his  day  and  with  the  time.  But  while  this 
is  true  and  he  feels  his  way  into  all  these  things,  I  believe 
the  minister  of  the  gospel  who  wisely  studies  these  matters, 
when  at  the  right  time  he  exposes  the  corruption  of  a  city 
council  or  opens  up  to  the  public  gaze  the  graft  of  a  police 
force,  or  shows  that  officials  in  political  positions  are  the  re- 
cipients of  the  manifold  bounties  of  vice  interests,  he  is  doing 
as  much  of  the  Lord's  work  as  when  he  invites  the  sinner 
to  the  altar  that  he  ntay  find  pardon  and  peace. 

The  next  is  the  pew.  By  the  pew  I  mean  the  Christian 
manhood  and  womanhood  of  this  Nation.  It  is  a  sad  fact, 
but  I  believe  it  to  be  true,  and  I  am  not  unmindful  of  the 
magnificent  laymen  of  the  Christian  Church  who  are  doing 
their  best  constantly  for  civic  righteousness  in  increasingly 
large  numbers ;  but  it  is  a  fact  that  is  worthy  of  our  prayerful 
consideration  that  so  many  of  our  Christian  men  are  unwilling 
and  afraid  to  put  themselves  on  the  firing  line  for  moral 
reform.  Some  of  them  have  not  in  the  least  realized 
their  responsibility  for  the  moral  conditions  that  surround 
their  community.  What  is  necessary  is  that  Christian  minis- 
ters and  Christian  laymen  face  the  great  evils  of  our  cities  and 
by  the  grace  of  God  endeavor  to  seek  their  solution.  If  we 
are  to  have  public  opinion  intensified  through  the  laity,  it  will 
be  necessary  for  the  laity  to  make  sacrifice.  I  have  found  it 
very  difficult  for  men,  because  of  their  inter-relationship  in 
business,  to  come  out  strongly  on  the  side  of  moral  reform. 
They  are  interested,  but  they  are  not  interested  enough,  to 
make  sacrifice.  They  are  willing  the  preacher  should  stand 
on  the  firing  line  and  receive  the  filth  and  the  abuse  of  the 

178 


FORWARD  MARCH !— A  CALL  TO  ADVANCE. 

enemy,  and  they  say,  as  they  pat  him  on  the  back,  "Go  to  it." 
I  wish  there  might  be  an  uprising  of  the  Christian  man- 
hood and  womanhood  of  this  Nation  that  would  face  bravely 
some  of  the  influences  that  are  destroying  our  city.  The 
trouble  has  been  that  when  we  have  had  moral  reform,  the 
laity  as  well  as  the  preacher  too  frequently  have  gone  back  and 
said,  "Well,  it  is  done. "  In  other  words,  they  have  performed 
a  destructive  work,  whereas  the  need  is  after  destruction 
a  plan,  and  after  this  Convention,  if  there  be  not  a  plan,  it 
will  merely  be  what  some  one  has  called  "A  convention  of 
ration,  oration,  and  evaporation."  Let  us  in  God's  name  be 
big  enough  to  take  the  problem  and  have  a  plan.  Without  a 
plan  we  will  do  nothing.  What  is  necessary  for  the  layman 
and  minister  is  not  only  to  do  that  which  is  essential  in  de- 
structive work,  but  make  so  sure  of  it  by  wise  plan  that  the 
old  enemy  can  never  again  raise  his  head. 

I  can  not  omit  to  say  in  this  Convention  that  we  can  not 
disregard  the  influence  of  the  women  in  this  day.  And  I  want 
to  thank  God  women  are  having  the  right  of  franchise  in  in- 
creasingly large  numbers.  Out  yonder  in  Seattle  we  would 
never  have  done  away  with  the  red-light  district  had  it  not 
been  for  the  votes  of  the  women.  They  held  their  prayer- 
meetings,  they  went  to  their  clubs  and  ladies'  aid  societies, 
and  the  city  was  so  stirred  that  the  enemy  said :  ' '  Look  here, 
the  people  have  just  voted  that  women  should  be  given  the 
right  of  franchise.  A  person  must  be  in  the  State  for  at  least 
one  year  before  he  can  have  the  right  of  franchise.  Now  it 
is  just  thirty  days  before  the  election  on  the  red-light  dis- 
trict, and  we  affirm  that  the  women  can  not  vote,  for  they 
have  not  been  eligible  a  year;"  and  one  of  the  courts  sus- 
tained that  decision.  Then  the  brotherhoods  of  the  city  took 
up  the  matter  with  the  Municipal  League;  they  appealed  to 
a  higher  court,  and  the  higher  court  reversed  the  decision, 
and  the  women  helped  as  no  other  people  did  to  destroy  the 
red-light  district.  What  the  men  of  Washington  had  been 
unable  to  do  with  the  red-light  district,  the  women,  God  bless 

179 


MILITANT  METHODISM. 

them,  and  the  splendid  Anti-Saloon  League,  the  Prohibi- 
tionists, the  Woman's  Christian  Temperance  Union,  all  to- 
gether did,  and  they  will  yet  drive  the  American  saloon  to 
its  cage,  and  its  cage  will  be  hidden  away,  never  again  to 
come  out. 

Next  is  the  press.  Now  I  want  to  congratulate  the  editors 
of  the  Methodist  papers  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church. 
On  these  moral  and  social  questions  they  stood  for  the  square 
thing,  and  they  are  deserving  of  the  united  support  of  the 
entire  Methodist  Episcopal  Church.  I  do  not  discount  the 
importance  of  the  daily  press;  none  would  be  so  unwise  as 
to  do  that.  I  know  of  no  greater  factor  for  the  creation  of 
public  opinion  than  that,  but  is  there  not  some  obligation  we 
owe  to  society  to  clean  up  some  of  the  daily  press?  What 
about  those  advertisements  of  quack  doctors?  I  believe  the 
day  is  coming  when  the  Christian  business  man  will  dictate 
the  policy  of  the  daily  papers  by  reason  of  the  fact  that  he 
is  an  advertiser,  and  that  the  daily  press  some  day  will  not 
dare  to  publish  these  advertisements  of  quack  medicines  and 
the  liquor  traffic  and  the  saloons.  The  Christian  business  man 
will  say,  ' '  If  you  do  that,  you  can  not  have  my  advertising. ' ' 
Let  me  tell  you  of  one  case.  A  certain  paper  in  Seattle  had 
been  accustomed  to  abuse  every  minister,  especially  if  he  had 
any  prominence,  if  he  stood  out  against  vice  and  wrong  in  any 
form.  Now,  it  has  not  been  very  long  since  representatives 
of  two  soap  firms  went  to  that  paper — the  name  of  one  part- 
ner has  long  been  connected  with  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church — and  they  said  to  the  editor  of  the  newspaper,  "Is  it 
your  policy  to  continue  to  publish  these  advertisements  of 
quack  doctors?"  and  they  said,  "Yes,  it  is;  it  means  eighty 
thousand  dollars  a  year. ' '  Then  said  these  gentlemen,  repre- 
senting twenty-eight  thousand  dollars  in  the  year,  "You  can 
not  have  our  advertising  if  you  continue  that,"  and  they  de- 
manded that  they  be  pulled  out  of  the  paper.  Two  of  the 
papers  they  went  to  see  admitted  that  it  was  wrong  and  said 
they  would  correct  the  error  of  their  ways;  the  other  paper 

180 


FORWARD  MARCH !— A  CALL  TO  ADVANCE. 

said,  ' '  No,  this  other  business  is  too  profitable  for  us ;  we  can 
not  do  it."  I  say  to  you  the  business  men  can  direct  very 
largely  the  policy  of  the  daily  press.  Now,  this  same  paper, 
when  we  were  having  that  war  on  the  red-light  district — we 
recalled  Mr.  Gill — there  has  been  but  one  recall  election  in 
Seattle,  and  we  recalled  the  man  who  stood  for  the  saloon  and 
who  stood  for  the  red-light  district,  and  ever  since  that  time 
we  have  had  noble  Christians  as  mayors  of  the  city  of  Seattle 
—notified  one  minister  that  if  he  kept  up  that  fight  he  would 
have  to  leave  the  city  in  ninety  days;  the  minister  sent  back 
word  that  if  he  left  the  cit}r  he  would  leave  it  feet  first. 

There  came  a  time  for  the  revival,  and  here  is  where  I 
want  to  close  by  showing  the  connection  between  the  evan- 
gelistic work  on  the  part  of  the  pastors  interested  in  the 
civic  affairs  of  a  great  city  and  in  social  service.  Four 
Churches — Baptist,  Presbyterian,  Methodist,  and  First  Con- 
gregational— came  together.  We  had  10,000  members  as  an 
aggregate  of  membership  in  those  Churches.  We  held  four 
weeks'  revival  services.  We  spoke  every  night  on  the  streets 
to  3,000  men  while  we  stood  in  automobiles.  I.  have  seen 
strong  men  kneel  in  the  streets  of  Seattle,  yielding  their  lives 
to  Jesus  Christ  and  finding  Him  as  their  Savior  from  sin. 
This  paper  came  to  the  business  mien's  committee  and 
said,  "We  want  you  to  place  us  on  the  same  footing  as  these 
other  papers,"  and  the  business  men  said,  "No,  you  have 
been  fighting  our  ministers,  you  have  been  declaring  them 
immoral,  you  have  lied  about  them;  we  will  give  you  no 
recognition."  They  said,  "We  will  give  you  the  best  write-up 
in  the  city."  So  they  put  on  five  reporters,  two  of  them 
court  reporters,  and  every  sermon  preached  was  taken 
down  verbatim  and  printed  in  that  particular  paper.  When 
it  was  over,  that  paper  sent  word  to  me  as  president  of  the 
Ministerial  Federation  of  Seattle — I  have  the  letters  on  file 
in  the  office,  "We  want  to  let  by-gones  be  by-gones;  we  are 
not  going  to  knock  the  preachers  any  more ;  give  us  the  recog- 
nition that  you  are  giving  the  other  papers,  and  we  will  never 

181 


MILITANT  METHODISM. 

again  attack  the  ministers  of  Seattle  and  the  Churches  and 
that  for  which  they  stand."  These  are  the  three  factors  in 
developing  public  opinion  that  is  to  be  crystallized  into 
statutory  laws,  but  I  am  not  unmindful  of  the  fact  that  every 
inspiration  that  helps  a  city,  a  State,  and  a  Nation  finds  its 
source  in  the  cross  and  emanates  therefrom. 

The  Call  to  Social  Service. 
FRANCIS  J.  MCCONNELL. 

IT  requires  only  a  very  ordinary  power  of  discernment  to 
see  that  there  is  all  over  the  world  a  movement  of  society 
toward  the  emphasis  of  a  larger  social  control.  The  social 
economist  says  that  it  is  because  the  free  land  of  the  world 
is  rapidly  becoming  exhausted.  In  our  own  free  country 
we  no  longer  have  free  land  as  our  fathers  had  it,  and  that 
is  practically  true  all  over  the  world.  Because  the  tide  of 
emigration  has  been  turned  back,  the  problem  of  congested 
population  forces  upon  us  this  subject  of  social  control.  The 
social  economist  also  says  that  the  rapidity  of  communication 
of  ideas  in  these  days  is  so  great  that  men  in  all  lands  quickly 
find  out  what  is  happening  in  the  thought  of  men  in  other 
lands,  and  are  very  anxious  and  willing  to  try  out  any  social 
scheme.  I  do  not  know  what  the  cause  is,  and  I  do  not  pre- 
tend to  say  what  the  cause  is,  but  it  is  very  significant  that 
every  one  who  looks  upon  this  problem  sees  that  it  is  a  move- 
ment that  goes  forward  and  not  back.  There  will  never  be 
a  return  to  conditions  of  other  days.  We  may  not  know 
what  is  going  to  happen  in  the  future,  but  we  certainly  shall 
not  go  back.  There  is  an  enormous  turmoil  and  commotion 
and  we  can  not  tell  what  is  ahead  of  us,  but  we  are  moving 
on  towards  stricter  and  stricter  forms  of  social  control.  It 
is  true  in  England.  It  is  true  in  France.  It  is  true  in  the 
Balkans  and  the  Far  East;  true  everywhere.  Let  this  fact 
sink  into  your  consciousness  for  a  minute.  I  do  not  appear 
to-night  as  an  advocate  of  Socialism.  I  simply  bring  Socialism 

182 


FORWARD  MARCH !— A  CALL  TO  ADVANCE. 

forward  because,  as  you  know,  it  stands  for  social  control — 
that  is  to  say,  society  is  an  organization  and  is  controlling 
and  ruling  itself.  I  have  seen  on  the  statement  of  reliable 
authority  that  there  are  more  Socialists  in  the  world  to-day, 
more  men  who  in  their  various  countries  vote  the  Socialist 
ticket  than  there  are  belonging  to  any  other  human  organiza- 
tion under  the  sun  except  the  Roman  Catholic  Church  when 
it  counts  as  a  communicant  every  one  who  is  really  attached 
to  the  Church.  Think  of  that!  More  practical  Socialists, 
standing  as  they  do  for  social  control  in  perhaps  an  extreme 
form,  under  the  sun  than  any  other  organization  except  the 
Roman  Catholic  Church.  It  illustrates  the  tendency  of  which 
I  speak.  No  man  can  tell  what  the  future  is  to  bring  forth. 
I  do  not  wish  to  trifle  with  the  dignity  of  this  occasion,  but, 
to  use  a  slang  expression  that  is  really  descriptive  of  this 
situation,  we  are  not  very  certain  of  just  where  we  are  going, 
but  we  are  mighty  certain  we  are  on  our  way.  Nobody  can 
tell  what  the  future  is  to  be  in  view  of  that  world-wide  move- 
ment. More  important,  it  seems  to  me,  than  any  strictly  in- 
tellectual movement  or  philosophical  movement,  more  im- 
portant than  any  other  single  movement  of  this  kind  in  the 
world  to-day  is  this  trend  all  over  the  world  towards  increased 
social  control. 

What  shall  be  the  attitude  of  the  Church,  and  what 
summons  is  there  to  us  as  an  institution?  The  summons 
to  us  is  for  a  very  deep  type  of  personal  piety,  of  sancti- 
fication  and  redemption  of  life  in  all  our  contact  with  our 
fellows  round  about  us.  There  have  been  some  statements 
of  the  doctrine  of  entire  sanctification  which  I  could  never 
understand,  but  I  heard  a  definition  of  entire  sanctification 
once  that  struck  me  as  being  fairly  satisfactory  for  practical 
purposes.  I  heard  an  old  man  say  once  that  he  was  a  little 
bit  confused  about  the  doctrine  of  sanctification,  but  he  pro- 
posed to  make  it  mean  that  he  would  sanctify  to  the  best  of 
fiis  ability  everything  that  he  could  get  his  liands  on.  We 
must  have  a  sanctification  of  all  personal  contacts  in  every 

183 


MILITANT  METHODISM. 

realm  of  life.  Of  course,  we  are  getting  beyond  the  dividing 
line  between  secular  and  sacred,  but  we  have  not  come  yet  to 
see,  perhaps,  the  wild  tracts  of  land  in  us  that  need  to  be 
redeemed.  Nominally  we  are  Christians,  but  tracts  in  our 
political  and  commercial  and  social  relations  are  not  yet 
entirely  sanctified;  there  is  a  lot  of  wild  land  especially 
around  the  edges;  and  while  the  land  near  at  hand  in 
industrial  contacts  seems  cultivated,  look  out  into  the 
jungle  and  you  will  hear  the  wolf  calling,  and  that  kind 
of  thing  needs  redemption  mightily.  Some  man  says,  "Let 
us  not  get  away  from  the  individualistic  personal  gospel." 
I  am  not  trying  to  do  that;  let  us  stay  there,  but  remember, 
after  you  have  got  a  man  clean,  everything  cleansed  and  pure 
at  its  source,  we  will  not  have  solved  the  social  problem  and  all 
problems.  And  some  man  says,  the  moment  you  talk  about 
this,  "You  are  talking  impersonal  forces."  I  am,  talking 
about  personal  sanctification,  and  when  you  talk  about  en- 
vironment, remember  there  are  two  kinds  of  environment: 
first,  the  environment  of  impersonal  forces,  and  second,  per- 
sonal environment,  which  consists  of  persons,  and  if  you  do 
not  believe  in  that  kind  of  environment  you  do  not  believe 
in  the  Christian  Church,  for  it  is  nothing  but  personal  environ- 
ment in  religious  principles.  We  need  to  sanctify  environ- 
ment in  that  sense.  A  good,  pious  man  called  upon  me  one 
time  to  see  about  getting  a  pastor  for  a  Methodist  Church  a 
good  many  hundreds  of  miles  from  here,  and  unless  you 
locate  it  nearer,  a  good  many  hundreds  of  miles  from  Denver. 
He  said,  "We  must  have  such  and  such  kind  of  a  man."  We 
sat  up  until  eleven  o'clock  Saturday  night,  and  he  got  his 
man.  Later  I  found  out  that  every  time  the  preacher  in  that 
town  tried  to  clean  out  dives  and  do  something  for  the  good 
of  the  town,  somebody  called  him  off.  In  my  innocence  I 
went  down  there  one  day  and  I  asked  this  layman  who  called 
him  off,  and  he  gave  a  gasp  and  said,  "If  that  man  talks 
about  dives  and  disorderly  houses  I  will  have  to  surrender 
my  business  position."  Now,  I  do  not  say  that  that  man 

184 


FORWARD  MARCH !— A  CALL  TO  ADVANCE. 

should  be  turned  out  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  but 
I  do  say  that  he  should  not  be  on  a  committee  to  seek  a  min- 
ister. I  will  say  this  also,  that  if  I  ever  hold  that  particular 
Conference  again  and  he  comes  to  me  on  the  Pulpit  Supply 
Committee,  we  will  not  talk  until  eleven  o'clock,  but  we  will 
get  through  comparatively  early  in  the  evening.  The  point 
is  this,  that  that  Churchman  was  the  personal  environment 
of  practically  everybody  in  that  town,  and  they  were  suffering 
from  these  evil  influences  and  he  sat  there  and  said  what  he 
wanted  was  a  preacher  who  would  preach  the  pure  gospel. 
He  was  superior  to  them,  but  the  thing  to  do  was  to  rise 
superior  to  him  by  putting  him  in  his  proper  place.  We  need 
that  doctrine  of  entire  sanctification  of  the  practical  kind, 
the  doctrine  of  a  sanctified  life.  We  need  emphasis  on  the 
social  consciousness  coming  out  of  sanctified  social  lives  that 
will  make  a  different  social  climate.  We  can  not  overcome 
some  things  by  direct  attack,  but  we  can  melt  some  things 
down  by  the  Christian  consciousness  of  the  Nation  and  trans- 
form some  things. 

Take  the  hornie  mission  problem — say,  the  problem  of  Mor- 
monism.  What  is  the  trouble  with  it?  Is  it  anything  espe- 
cially dangerous  in  its  theology  ?  Not  at  all ;  if  you  want  to 
keep  a  man  from  becoming  a  convert  to  Mormonism,  let  him 
read  the  Mormon  Bible.  Of  all  nonsense,  that  is  about  the 
worst.  If  you  want  to  separate  him  still  further,  let  him 
look  into  its  theology.  The  danger  is  not  in  polygamy.  I 
have  been  trying  to  find  specific  cases.  The  marriage  has  to 
take  place  in  secret.  The  priest  has  his  face  muffled,  and 
if  anybody  is  caught  in  the  thing  he  has  to  be  willing  to 
plead  that  he  is  guilty  of  unlawful  cohabitation.  What  is 
the  trouble?  In  the  old  days  there  was  a  strong  social  feel- 
ing against  it;  but  what  is  now  the  trouble?  About  two 
trusts  and  a  railroad  or  two.  You  send  missionaries  out  there, 
and  they  do  the  best  they  can;  and  about  all  they  do  is  to 
keep  the  people  from  becoming  good  Mormons,  and  that  is 
worth  while.  I  am  not  afraid  that  anything  that  happens  in 

385 


MILITANT  METHODISM. 

Utah  is  going  to  transform  the  United  States.  Utah  had  a 
very  fine  chance  in  the  last  Presidential  election  to  show  what 
she  could  do  if  let  alone.  Even  with  the  help  of  Vermont  she 
did  not  get  very  far,  and  that  is  no  reflection  on  the  man  she 
voted  for.  The  trouble  is  that  Mormouism  is  absolutely  un- 
American.  Think  of  two  or  three  million  tithes  turned  into 
one  man's  hands,  with  practically  no  kind  of  a  check!  That 
amounts  to  political  domination.  The  right  kind  of  atmos- 
phere will  make  a  transformation,  but  we  will  have  to  keep 
our  mind  on  that  railroad  and  the  trust  or  two.  How  did 
those  great  monsters  of  other  ages  die?  Because  somebody 
took  a  weapon  and  smote  them?  No;  they  died  because  the 
climate  changed;  and  there  are  a  great  many  things  in  this 
country  that  will  die  one  of  these  days  because  the  climate 
changes,  and  our  children  will  look  back  and  see  some  things 
we  now  have  in  this  country,  and  wonder  how  we  stood  them. 
Maybe  we  are  not  correctly  informed  about  the  social  con- 
sequences of  these  things:  I  arn  not  talking  about  any  par- 
ticular scheme.  Some  profound  reorganizations  are  coming 
along  as  the  nations  pass  from  one  crisis  to  another. 

We  talk  about  the  home  mission  field  and  the  foreign 
mission  field;  what  is  the  great  hindrance  in  these  days  to 
the  spread  of  the  gospel?  James  Bryce  in  his  book  of 
"University  and  Historical  Addresses"  makes  this  state- 
ment, that  clear  up  to  the  present  time  contact  between  the 
so-called  favored  nations  and  nations  less  favored  in  certain 
respects,  and  especially  material  respects,  has  very  little  to 
redeem  it  from  being  an  unrelieved  horror.  That  is  prac- 
tically true.  We  have  looked  upon  the  material  resources  of 
other  countries  simply  as  something  to  be  exploited.  We  have 
looked  out  on  the  human  beings  of  other  countries  as  some- 
thing to  be  exploited ;  and  the  traveler  and  the  diplomat  that 
the  missionary  in  the  foreign  field  has  to  contend  with  are 
the  ones  most  completely  in  his  way.  I  know  what  I  am  talk- 
ing about,  for  I  have  been  to  Mexico.  I  have  a  speech  on 
Mexico  that  I  have  been  giving  all  over  the  country.  I  am 

186 


FORWARD  MARCH !— A  CALL  TO  ADVANCE. 

going  to  put  in  a  paragraph  of  it  here.  We  send  Dr.  Butler 
and  his  faithful  and  noble  band  of  men  and  women — as  faith- 
ful and  noble  as  you  can  find  anywhere — down  there,  and 
then  ask  them  to  contend  against  almost  insuperable  ob- 
stacles in  the  contact  of  the  two  nations.  Let  me  be  very 
accurate.  A  Mexican,  when  he  has  a  chance — and  a  very  few 
of  them  have  had  a  chance,  living  on  ten  cents  or  less  a  day — 
the  Mexican,  when  he  has  a  chance,  is  just  about  as  good  a 
person  as  you  would  care  to  find  anywhere.  Here  is  an  in- 
cident. An  American  was  sitting,  just  before  this  last  out- 
break, in  his  office  in  Mexico  City.  A  nicely-dressed  Mexican 
came  in,  and  he  turned  and  said  to  his  secretary,  "Send  for 
an  interpreter  until  I  find  what  this  damned  Aztec  wants." 
That  's  what  he  said.  The  Mexican  said,  "It  is  not  necessary 
to  send  for  an  interpreter;  I  understand  English."  What 
kind  of  an  impression  was  made  on  that  particular  Aztec's 
mind?  I  was  on  the  streets  of  Mexico  City  the  day  before 
Madero  was  shot,  and  one  American  said,  "I  hope  to  good- 
ness they  will  get  him  soon."  I  was  on  the  streets  the  day 
Gustavo  Madero  was  killed,  and  another  American  said,  with 
a  profane  and  obscene  expression,  that  he  was  glad  they  had 
got  him  at  last.  I  was  in  comlmunication  for  two  days  with 
the  former  Secretary  of  the  M&dero  government,  whose  sta- 
tistics may  have  been  colored  a  little;  but  he  told  me  that 
there  is  one  whole  State  in  Mexico,  every  square  foot  of  land 
in  which  is  held  by  a  foreign  corporation,  and  not  one  foreign 
corporation  pays  one  red  cent  of  taxes  to  Mexico.  He  said 
the  Peninsula  of  Lower  California  can  be  divided  into  six 
strips,  each  of  which  is  held  by  foreigners  paying  no  taxes. 
Mahogany  forests  are  given  away  as  foreign  concessions.  Sixty 
million  acres  of  land,  which  one  government  brought  back  to 
the  public  domain,  given  away  by  graft  concession.  That  is 
friendly  contact;  that  is  peaceful  penetration.  And  I  have 
to  say  it  gets  pretty  far  in;  it  is  successful.  There  is  not 
much  that  has  more  of  an  edge  on  it  than  this.  I  have  been 
reading  in  the  papers  a  lot  of  talk  about  American  honor, 

187 


MILITANT  METHODISM. 

But  I  have  yet  to  see  many  magazine  articles  on  this  ques- 
tion, "What  is  the  best  for  Mexico  in  this  whole  matter?" 
We  hear  a  great  deal  about  the  honor  of  the  United  States. 
I  heard  a  wise  man  say  this,  that  it  is  liard  to  treat  any- 
thing with  respect  unless  it-  is  respectable. ' '  And  when  you 
hear  people  talking  about  the  honor  of  the  United  States, 
we  think  of  the  Master's  words,  "You  know  not  of  what 
spirit  you  are."  Nobody  is  asking  me  for  any  light  on  the 
Mexican  question.  But  I  want  to  say  this  plainly,  that  the 
consideration  of  the  contact  of  the  so-called  higher  class  with 
the  so-called  lower  class  has  been  an  unrelieved  theme  from 
the  beginning  until  now,  but  when  the  question  is  studied 
through  and  through,  in  the  light  of  right  social  and  political 
relationships,  the  nations  will  come  to  the  glory  of  God  with  a 
spontaniety  that  will  be  beyond  description. 

There  is  one  further  point  I  wish  to  make  and  that 
is  this,  that  when  we  get  the  right  kind  of  social  con- 
sciousness we  will  have  a  new  understanding  of  Christianity. 
I  do  not  believe  that  the  foundation  of  the  Book  ever 
stood  firmer  than  to-day.  I  do  not  think  the  Church  was 
ever  looked  upon  more  favorably  than  to-day.  And  men 
are  searching  after  all  these  things  that  will  transform  the 
Nation.  It  has  been  done  in  the  past,  and  if  we  can  lead  this 
world-wide  movement  into  the  right  channel,  it  will  be  an 
argument  that  can  not  be  shaken.  Is  that  radicalism?  If 
it  is,  it  is  the  radicalism  of  going  down  to  the  root.  The 
Master  told  a  parable  of  a  man  who  cut  down  a  tree,  and  I 
suppose  he  left  the  stump,  and  another  man  came  with  a 
spade  and  moved  the  earth  and  let  in  the  sunshine  and 
dropped  a  seed  in,  and  lo!  a  great  change.  The  radicalism 
of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  is  just  this,  of  giving  things  a 
chance  by  getting  down  to  their  roots.  There  are  certain 
institutions  that  never  yet  have  had  a  chance.  Splendid 
as  the  family  is,  it  has  not  had  its  best  chance.  Has  there 
ever  been  any  kind  of  organization  or  institution  that  has  had 
its  best  chance?  Christian  radicals  should  come  not  with  the 

188 


FORWARD  MARCH !— A  CALL  TO  ADVANCE. 

ax  to  destroy  things  necessarily,  but  with  spades  to  give  things 
a  chance.  Heaven  is  just  an  improved  environment.  A  wise 
old  thinker  once  said,  "All  the  Lord  does  here  is  to  start 
the  plants  and  then  He  puts  them  in  a  place  where  the  per- 
sonal environment  is  better,"  and  this  is  the  thing  we  have 
really  been  standing  for  in  Christianity  from  the  beginning. 
Starting  with  the  individual  soul,  and  realizing  the  fact  that 
there  are  things  we  can  do  better  together  than  alone,  recog- 
nizing the  fact  that  there  is  a  kind  of  birth  of  consciousness 
that  is  better  than  the  individual  consciousness.  What  is  the 
law  of  social  movement ?  That  two  and  two  make  four?  Not 
at  all.  Two  and  two  make  half  a  dozen  or  a  hundred.  We 
have  been  working  for  that  from  the  beginning.  It  is  no  new 
doctrine.  I  remember  that  Bishop  Foster,  standing  once 
before  a  convention  of  ministers  of  Baltimore,  said  one  great 
trouble  with  the  Christianity  of  the  world  is  that  we  have 
not  proper  conditions  in  our  social  life  at  home.  How  can 
we  go  out  to  preach  the  Christian  gospel  to  the  nations  with  a 
cancer  of  intemperance  burning  in  the  bosom  of  our  Nation? 
There  are  some  other  things  besides  that.  The  thing  for 
us  to  do  is  to  try  to  go  clear  down  to  the  depths  of  the  gospel 
of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  and  insist  in  all  our  dealings  with, 
the  outside  world  that  the  influence  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ 
shall  govern.  The  summons  of  the  age  comes  out  of  the  fact 
that  there  is  a  world-wide  movement  for  the  Church  to  reg- 
ister itself  and  stand  squarely  face  to  face  with  these  issues 
and  try  to  guide  this  movement  in  the  right  channel. 


189 


III.    THE  CALL  OF  AMERICA  AND  OF  THE 

WORLD. 


New  Americans  for  A  New  America. 
EDWIN  H.  HUGHES. 

NEW  Americans  come  to  us  through  three  gates:  the  gate  of 
immigration,  the  gate  of  birth,  and  the  gate  of  character. 
The  problem  with  immigration  is  spiritual  assimilation.  The 
problem  with  youth  is  spiritual  education.  The  problem  with 
character  is  spiritual  regeneration.  If  we  are  to  have  a  new 
America,  it  must  arrive  from  these  three  directions. 

That  adjective  "new"  has  played  a  huge  part  in  all  our 
American  life.  Its  use  began  in  colonial  days.  The  hope 
for  the  future  as  well  as  the  reverence  for  the  past  was  ex- 
pressed by  its  recurrence  even  in  geography.  New  England, 
New  Hampshire,  New  York,  New  Brunswick,  New  Amster- 
dam, New  Orleans,  New  Rochelle, — all  these  names,  whether 
English  or  Dutch  or  French,  were  symbols  of  expectancy  as 
well  as  reminders  of  fond  experience  in  the  lands  beyond 
the  sea.  In  truth,  the  adjective  "new"  has  been  used  in 
a  wholesale  manner;  and  we  speak  of  our  country  still  as 
the  "New  World."  More  than  four  hundred  years  have 
passed  since  Christopher  Columbus  touched  these  shores  with 
the  cross  of  our  faith.  Yet  our  National  hope  is  so  large 
and  bright  that,  in  spite  of  well-nigh  half  a  millennium  of 
history  and  the  passing  of  about  twelve  generations  of  human 
beings,  we  persist  in  calling  America  the  "New  World." 
The  emblem  of  our  Nation  is  not  tottering  age,  nor  even 
staid  and  completed  mid-life;  it  is  rather  youth, — buoyant, 
eager,  glad.  The  visitor  to  our  land  is  not  treated  to  the  sight 
of  many  ruins,  but  he  is  regaled  with  the  vision  of  many 

190 


FORWARD  MARCH !— A  CALL  TO  ADVANCE. 

castles  in  the  American  air.  We  still  look  here  for  a  "new 
earth  wherein  dwelleth  righteousness."  The  mood  of  the 
New  Testament  is  in  our  blood. 

The  ever-present  danger  is  that  we  shall  think  of  new 
Americans  as  creations  rather  than  achievements,  and  of  the 
new  America  as  an  inevitable  happening  rather  than  as  a 
holy  and  serious  task.     The  pillars  of  State  are  not  flung 
into  their  places  by  the  lazy  fancy  of  men,  nor  are  they 
pushed  beneath  the  temple  of  State  as  structural  accidents. 
They  are  shaped  and  cemented  in  the  sweat  and  blood  of  men. 
It    is   nearly    three    hundred    years    since    Plymouth    Rock  f 
became   historic,    and   nearly   a   century   and   a   half   since   ; 
the  Liberty  Bell  became  musical.     The  dust  of  millions  and  • 
of  hundreds  of  millions  is  lying  beneath  the  sod  of  valley  |; 
and  mountain.     Still  do  we  speak  of  the  "new  land,"  and 
"new  Americans,"  and  of  the  "New  America."     We  toss 
these  phrases  upon  a  program  as  if  the  normal  American 
heart   needed   no   explanation   of   their   meaning.      It   may 
be  said  that  Christianity  as  a  religion  and  the  United  States 
as   a   Nation  have  this   in   common:   that   both   hear  some 
adequate  power  saying,  "Behold,  I  make  all  things  new." 

It  is  our  duty  as  Christian  men  to  see  to  it  that  America 
shall  turn  to  Jesus  Christ  for  all  its  newness.  Those  who 
come  to  us  through  the  gates  of  immigration  must  be  met 
in  His  spirit.  Those  who  come  to  us  through  the  gates  of 
birth  must  be  received  as  His  immortal  charges,  to  be  kept 
as  His  own  forever.  Those  who  would  seek  the  gates  of 
regeneration  must  be  persuaded  out  of  the  hostile  country 
and  the  neutral  ground  until  the  touch  of  Christ's  power  shall 
make  them  new  men  and,  therefore,  best  Americans.  At 
whichever  of  the  three  points  we  meet  our  problem,  the 
method  and  spirit  of  Jesus  are  our  only  hope.  God  stations 
us  at  all  three  of  the  gates  through  which  the  new  Americans 
come  in  order  that,  by  ushering  them  into  His  life,  we  may 
likewise  usher  in  the  New  America. 

I.    What,  then,  is  the  command  that  comes  to  us  from 

191 


MILITANT  METHODISM. 

the  spirit  of  Jesus  as  to  our  attitude  toward  those  who  ar- 
rive through  the  gates  of  immigration?  This  is  not  the 
occasion  for  debating  the  wisdom  of  our  immigration  laws. 
Among  Christian  men  there  can  be  no  possible  controversy 
on  one  point:  If  our  laws  give  men  and  women  and  chil- 
dren either  invitation  or  liberty  to  come  to  our  shores,  they 
must  here  be  fashioned  after  our  political  life,  and  they 
must  be  met  and  conquered  by  that  free  gospel  that  is  alone 
the  safeguard  of  our  Republic.  If  each  year  a  million  new 
faces  turn  eagerly  to  our  ports,  it  will  be  national  idiocy 
and  religious  apostasy  for  us  to  withhold  that  sympathy  that 
is  the  very  beginning  of  spiritual  assimilation.  Let  it  be 
said  without  sentimentality  that  the  great  assimilator  is  love. 
In  the  long  run,  that  section  of  the  Church  of  Christ  that 
most  loves  the  immigrant  will  most  claim  the  immigrant. 
Physicians  will  tell  us,  in  their  medical  vocabulary,  that  very 
often  the  immigrant  is  afflicted  with  "nostalgia."  He  longs 
for  the  vision  of  the  native  hills  and  valleys  and  of  the  dear 
faces  of  his  family  and  friends  until  at  last  his  heart  breaks 
for  very  loneliness.  The  steerage  of  the  ships  and  the  files  of 
Castle  Garden  are  filled  with  the  germs  of  homesickness. 
Christian  men  must  furnish  the  antidote.  Jesus  would  do 
just  that.  His  heart  would  yearn  toward  those  newcomers. 
He  who  said,  "The  foxes  have  holes,  and  the  birds  of  the 
air  have  nests,  but  the  Son  of  man  hath  not  where  to  lay  His 
head,"  would  enter  into  sympathy  with  those  homeless  ar- 
rivals. God  put  the  "stranger"  into  the  Ten  Commandments 
and  allied  the  dispensation  of  law  with  the  treatment  of  every 
newcomer.  Jesus  put  the  "stranger"  into  the  tests  of  the 
judgment  and  allied  Himself  with  every  foreigner  whose 
anxious  eyes  really  look  for  the  face  of  Christ  in  the  Amer- 
ican welcome.  Those  who  know  best  will  tell  us  that  the 
stranger  is  peculiarly  susceptible  to  Christian  friendliness. 
Our  Lord  knew  this  when  He  identified  Himself  with  him  and 
said,  "I  was  a  Stranger,  and  ye  took  Me  in."  The  Chris- 
tian attitude  toward  this  candidate  for  Americanism  is  not 

192 


FORWARD  MARCH !— A  CALL  TO  ADVANCE. 

simply  that  he  represents  Caesar  or  Savonarola,  Luther  or 
Goethe,  Huss  or  Copernicus,  Shakespeare  or  Milton;  it  is 
rather  that  he  represents  Christ.  Long  ago  four  Greeks 
came  and  said,  "Sirs,  we  would  see  Jesus."  In  their  com- 
ing our  Lord  beheld  the  coming  of  His  own  Kingdom.  Out 
of  a  vast  hope  He  said  that  those  fragments  of  the  outside 
world  were  prophecies  of  His  wide  reign  ovei*  all  the  world. 
Already  our  Lord  has  given  us  these  tokens  of  optimismT 
Already  many  thousands  of  immigrants  are  walking  the  ways 
of  loyal  Americanism  and  likewise  the  ways  of  a  free  and 
spiritual  religion.  Some  of  them  are  in  all  our  Churches. 
In  a  union  Thanksgiving  service  of  our  denomination  in  San 
Francisco  one  would  have  noted  the  Japanese  here,  the  Chi- 
nese there,  the  Scandinavians  on  the  left,  the  Swedes  on  the 
right,  the  Germans  in  the  center,  and  a  little  group  of  Ital- 
ians sitting,  shy  and  modest,  in  the  front  seats.  He  would 
be  dull,  both  in  his  American  faith  and  in  his  Christian  faith, 
who  would  not  see  the  significance  of  such  a  scene  as  that. 
My  brethren,  every  year  God  gives  His  Church  in  America 
a  million  opportunities  in  as  many  immigrants.  William  Nast 
was  one  of  those  opportunities  in  the  not  distant  past.  We 
seized  that  human  chance  for  Christ,  and  to-day  many  thou- 
sands of  voices,  both  German  and  English,  bl,ess  the  event, 
while  a  fine  stream  of  Teuton  blood  helps  to  make  both  the 
New  America  and  the  new  Methodism,  God  give  grace  to  His 
Church  that  we  may  more  and  more  make  Castle  Garden  one 
of  the  entrances  to  His  Kingdom  and  that  we  may  turn  the 
Panama  Canal  into  a  river  of  life  along  whose  borders  will 
grow  the  trees  for  the  healing  of  the  nations ! 

II.  We  must  not,  however,  neglect  that  other  road  along 
which  wee  feet  walk  into  our  National  and  Church  life.  Far 
more  than  a  million  little  people  come  annually  out  of  the 
everywhere  into  the  here.  Around  each  of  a  thousand  cradles 
men  and  women  stand  daily  saying,  "What  manner  of  child 
shall  this  be?"  George  McDonald  makes  this  dialogue  to 
occur  with  each  blessed  and  breathing  arrival: 

»  193 


MILITANT  METHODISM. 

"And  how  did  you  come  to  be  just  you? 
God  thought  of  me,  and  so  I  grew. 

"And  how  did  you  come  to  us,  you  dear? 
God  thought  of  you,  and  so  I  am  here." 

It  requires  no  great  strain  on  faith  to  say  that  this  is  quite 
as  true  in  the  National  and  in  the  Church  sense  as  it  is  in 
the  family  sense.  Every  child  is  God's  thought  for  the  future 
of  the  Church  and  the  Nation.  Those  eager  feet  romp  on 
to  take  our  places.  The  boys  that  shouted  on  their  way 
to  school  this  very  day  will  run  the  Men's  Convention  twenty- 
five  years  hence.  The  chairmen  of  those  coming  sessions 
to-day  gave  the  mystic  signals  on  the  gridiron.  The  speakers 
of  that  coming  program  to-day  exercised  their  vocal  powers 
in  shouting  teams  onward  to  the  goal.  He  is  an  infidel  who 
does  not  believe  that  those  boundless  powers  belong  to  Christ, 
and  he  is  a  new  betrayer  of  our  Lord  who  takes  no  earnest 
part  in  keeping  their  feet  in  the  path  everlasting.  These  are 
the  new  Americans  that  will  fashion  the  new  America,  these 
the  new  souls  that  will  make  the  new  Christian  Republic. 

Nor  can  there  be  any  real  doubt  as  to  the  attitude  of  Christ 
toward  the  subjects  of  this  problem.  To  rich  men  Jesus 
showed  a  differing  mood.  To  the  adults  who  sought  His 
teaching  He  gave  widely  differing  commands.  But  to  chil- 
dren He  was  ever  the  same, — gentle,  hopeful-,  and  utterly 
dogmatic  in  reference  to  their  spiritual  standing, — saying: 
"Take  heed  that  ye  despise  not  one  of  these  little  ones;" 
"Whosoever  shall  offend  one  of  these  little  ones;"  "The 
Kingdom  of  Heaven  belongeth  unto  such."  We  will  search 
the  words  of  Jesus  all  in  vain  for  any  utterance  that  did 
not  distinctly  claim  all  childhood  as  His  own.  Beyond  the 
earthly  parenthood  He  saw  the  Heavenly  Fatherhood.  Above 
the  family  tree  He  saw  the  eternal  reach  of  ancestry.  The 
children's  names  were  written  in  the  Lamb's  book  of  life 
ere  they  were  penned  in  the  famity  Bible  of  earth.  Jesus  on 

-  194 


FORWARD  MARCH!— A  CALL  TO  ADVANCE. 

the  streets  of  Jerusalem  represents  God,  gathering  the  chil- 
dren in  His  arms  and  saying  forever,  "Suffer  the  little  ones 
to  come  unto  Me  and  forbid  them  not."  They  will  come  if 
they  are  merely  suffered  to  come.  They  will  come  if  they 
are  not  forbidden.  The  time  may  arrive  when  they  will  walk 
the  byways  and  highways  and  when  the  Lord's  word  will  be, 
"Compel  them  to  come  in."  It  is  not  so  now.  Children  are 
the  primary  opportunity  of  the  people  of  God.  They  are  the 
hope  of  America  and  of  the  Church. 

It  might  not  be  amiss  for  us  to  imitate  the  splendid 
dogmatism  of  Jesus  with  reference  to  the  spiritual  stand- 
ing of  children.  We  forbear  to  do  so.  Whether  our  prob- 
lem be  that  of  keeping  them  within  the  Kingdom  or  of  gain- 
ing them  for  the  Kingdom,  their  plastic  lives  will  answer 
to  our  touch.  Among  all  hopeful  signs  for  our  Church 
of  the  present  time,  this  is  the  most  hopeful:  that  there 
is  a  loving  Children's  Crusade  in  the  plan  of  the  Kingdom; 
not  a  crusade  that  sends  wee  marchers  to  die  on  the  plains 
of  Italy  in  a  wild  attempt  to  recover  Jerusalem  from  the 
Saracens;  not  the  hysterical  leadership  of  Nicholas  of  Ven- 
dome  and  Stephen  of  Cologne;  not  a  glaring  track  of  small 
skeletons  whitening  beyond  the  passes  of  the  Alps  and  south- 
ward; but  rather  a  crusade  which  seeks  to  claim  every 
young  life  as  a  recruit  for  that  army  that  is  led  by  the  Son 
of  God  as  He  goes  forth  to  war  against  strongholds  mightier 
than  a  walled  Jerusalem.  If  we  knew  the  far  and  high  issues 
and  the  sure  tokens  of  progress  we  would  hail  the  large  in- 
crease in  Sunday  school  scholars  as  the  prophecy  of  new 
Americans,  new  Methodists,  new  soldiers  for  Christ.  Here 
in  a  Men's  Convention  Jesus  would  still  place  the  child  in 
the  midst.  Directly  we  shall  know  that  nothing  more  truly 
represents  Jesus  than  a  proper  attitude  toward  the  little 
people.  When  that  attitude  claims  us  wholly,  we  shall  put 
child  labor  to  death  and  the  two  million  pairs  of  small  feet 
that  even  to-day  stood  in  the  mills  and  factories  of  our  Nation 

195 


MILITANT  METHODISM. 

will  walk  out  to  their  God-appointed  places  of  preparation 
in  the  schools  and  Churches  of  the  Nations  and  to  their  God- 
appointed  play  amid  the  daisies  of  the  field.  The  Christian 
conception  of  childhood  will  soon  or  late  reach  the  hand  of 
the  modern  Herod  and  stop  forever  the  modern  slaughter 
of  the  innocents.  It  will  do  more  than  this :  it  will  translate 
the  children  from  the  dust  of  mills  and  factories,  not  only 
into  the  sunshine  of  natural  childhood,  but  even  into  the 
Kingdom  of  God.  "We  shall  hear  the  march  of  that  glad  and 
alert  procession  of  children  as  it  moves  through  the  beautiful 
gate  of  the  temple.  When  we  allow  the  Good  Shepherd  to 
gather  the  lambs  in  His  bosom,  He  will  be  compelled  to  make 
fewer  journeys  out  to  the  wild  and  hare  mountains  that  He 
may  recover  the  lost  to  the  safety  and  peace  of  His  blessed 
fold. 

III.  But  there  is  another  gate  through  which  new  Amer- 
icans may  be  brought  to  the  New  America.  Immigrants  may 
become  our  anarchists  and  saloonists.  Children  may  grow 
up  to  be  grafters  and  blasphemers.  Immigration  is  not 
regeneration.  Assimilation  is  not  sanctification.  Education 
is  not  a  new  birth.  The  inspector  at  Ellis  Island  can  not 
see  the  heart.  The  public  school  teacher  may  not  officially 
use  the  penitent  form  or  the  mourner's  bench.  If  we  but 
knew  it,  the  hope  of  America  lies  with  the  men  who  proclaim 
a  redeeming  God.  A  revival  of  religion  is  necessarily  a 
revival  of  assuring  Americanism.  Crowded  altars  are  the 
Republic 's  best  hope. 

For,  after  all,  we  need  a  frequent  return  to  the  common- 
place statement  that  a  Nation  is  not  made  up  of  hills  and  val- 
leys, but  rather  of  human  souls.  Every  good  man  makes  a 
better  America.  When  the  preacher  sees  his  convert  walking 
the  ways  of  righteousness  and  service,  he  can  say,  "I  have 
helped  my  country. ' '  Rocks  and  rills  and  woods  and  templed 
hills  get  their  meaning  from  men.  Mrs.  Browning  does  not 
overstate  it  in  her  "Aurora  Leigh:" 

196 


FORWARD  MARCH !— A  CALL  TO  ADVANCE. 

Government,  if  veritable  and  lawful 

Is  not  given  by  the  imposition  of  the  foreign  hand. 

******** 

Genuine  government  is  but  the  expression  of  a  people. 
The  loud  sum  of  its  silent  units/' 

The  unit  of  America  is  an  individual  heart.  Every  renewed 
heart  lifts  the  moral  average  of  the  Nation  and  is  a  contri- 
bution to  the  new  America.  It  is  the  business  of  the  Church, 
both  as  a  matter  of  patriotism  and  of  religion,  to  keep  open 
the  gates  through  which  men  and  women  walk  the  ways  of 
genuine  penitence  to  the  peace  and  pardon  and  purity  of  God. 
This,  my  friends,  was  the  message  of  Methodism  to  the 
eighteenth  and  nineteenth  centuries.  It  must  be  our  message 
to  the  twentieth  century.  It  may  be  that  at  times  and  by 
some  persons  the  doctrine  of  conversion  has  been  held  nar- 
rowly; and  it  is  doubtless  true  that  we  have  confused  many 
good  hearts  by  the  preaching  of  a  typical  experience.  But 
our  main  message  remains  intact :  God  Almighty  by  the  Holy 
Ghost  sent  down  from  above  and  by  the  free  grace  revealed 
in  Jesus  Christ,  does  save  men  from  their  sins  and  does  -give 
them  new  hearts.  That  conception  has  found  its  way  into 
literature,  both  polite  and  philosophic.  William  James  cele- 
brates it  in  his  ' '  Varieties  of  Religious  Experience, '  *  and  the 
Harvard  professor  leaves  the  prime  contention  of  Methodism 
in  possession  of  the  field.  Harold  Begbie  celebrates  the  same 
spiritual  fact  in  his  two  books  that,  recounting  actual  ex- 
periences, none  the  less  read  like  heaven-inspired  romances 
of  the  soul.  We  may  well  submit,  that  when  the  philosopher 
and  the  novelist  begin  to  exalt  the  doctrine  of  conversion,  it 
is  a  poor  time  for  a  Methodist  Episcopal  preacher  or  layman 
to  slur  or  modify  or  discount  the  first  and  foremost  article  of 
our  creed.  The  whole  modern  movement  in  religion  swings 
back  to  the  position  of  our  fathers  and  admits,  however 
falteringly,  the  gospel  of  a  regenerating  God.  In  that  gospel 
its  revealed  the  one  sure  process  of  making  new  Americans, 

197 


MILITANT  METHODISM. 

and  from  that  gospel  alone  can  come  a  new  and  exalted 
America. 

Years  ago  Sir  Edwin  Arnold  visited  America  and  spoke 
to  the  students  of  our  oldest  university.  One  memorable  and 
even  unforgettable  sentence  seized  the  memory  of  every 
hearer.  He  gave  a  succinct  and  epigrammatic  description  of 
the  great  wars  of  our  past  and  of  the  greater  contest  of  our 
future:  "Gentlemen  of  Harvard,"  he  said,  "in  1776  and 
in  1812  you  conquered  your  fathers.  In  the  years  from  1861 
to  1865  you  conquered  your  brothers.  Will  you  permit  an 
Englishman  to  say  that  your  next  victory  must  be  over  your- 
selves?" It  is  small  wonder  that  the  sentiment  wins  for 
itself  frequent  quotation.  It  approaches  the  heart  of  our 
present  American  problem.  We  need  not  ask  for  that  control 
over  ourselves  that  is  represented  merely  by  cool  diplomacy 
that  seeks  advantage  in  commercial  or  political  contest. 
Rather  should  we  ask  for  the  control  that  is  large  enough  to 
yield  to  God  and  wise  enough  to  choose  His  way.  We  boast 
of  the  Anglo-Saxon  blood.  We  forget  that  our  ancestors  were 
the  wild  men  of  the  North  until  Jesus  found  them  and  made 
them  the  mightiest  people  on  earth.  If  America  goes  back  on 
Him,  we  will  make  choice  of  suicide.  One  who  is  fromi  the 
Pacific  Coast  may  be  allowed  to  say  that  the  only  "yellow 
peril"  is  a  white  peril.  If  America  rejects  Jesus  and  if  China 
and  Japan  accept  Him,  the  yellow  man  will  seize  our  crown. 
But  if  America  shall  keep  Christ  and  more  and  more  live  in 
His  spirit,  and  if  China  and  Japan  shall  accept  Christ  and 
shall  walk  in  His  ways,  they  will  simply  become  the  Eastern 
and  Western  partners  of  the  Prince  of  Peace. 

By  this  program  America  may  become  the  servant  of  God 
for  the  world  of  God.  Claiming  the  immigrant  for  our  free 
religion  as  well  as  for  our  free  Republic;  claiming  the  child 
for  the  Stars  and  Stripes  only  more  because  we  claim  him 
for  the  banner  of  Inimanuel,  and  claiming  every  sinner  for 
a  cleaner  Nation  and  an  ampler  gospel — we  shall  make  our 
country  great  by  the  greatness  of  God  Himself. 

198 


FORWARD  MARCH !— A  CALL  TO  ADVANCE. 

The  Challenge  of  An  Awakened  World. 

HOMER  C.  STUNTZ. 

I  AM  to  ask  you  to-night  as  I  shall  be  helped  of  the  Lord  to 
look  at  an  open  world  as  the  challenge  to  our  Methodist  men. 
And  the  feeblest  understanding  can  see  at  once  that  that 
opens  a  theme  for  which  I  would  require  not  thirty  minutes 
but  thirty  days  of  five  hours  each  to  adequately  treat.  And  I 
will  cut  out  the  conventional  introduction  and  say  that  we 
began  as  a  foreign  missionary  agency,  we  began  our  work  in 
Africa,  and  I  will  begin  at  Africa. 

And  I  begin  by  saying  that  when  we  first  sent  Melville 
Beveridge  Cox  to  Africa,  the  work  that  was  possible  for 
the  evangelical  Churches  upon  the  continent  of  Africa  was 
about  in  relation  to  the  bulk  of  Africa  of  a  very  small  wren's  y 
nest  under  the  eave  of  an  immense  barn.  It  was  just  a  little 
point  on  the  western  edge  of  a  common  five  thousand  miles 
long  and  nearly  as  wide,  a  continent  containing  to-day  one 
hundred  and  sixty  million  souls  as  near  as  may  be  known. 
And  the  years  have  gone  on  since  1833  until  it  is  now  1913, 
and  we  lack  but  twenty  years  of  a  century  since  our  first 
foreign  missionary  died  crying,  ' '  Let  a  million  fall,  but  let  not 
Africa  be  given  up.''  And  what  do  we  behold  in  Africa  to- 
night through  the  leadership  of  God  as  seen  in  schools  and 
Church  work?  We  see  Africa  not  like  it  appeared  to  Mel- 
ville Beveridge  Cox  when  he  first  entered  it.  We  see  an 
Africa  which  is  almost  entirely  patrolled  from  the  pillar  of 
Hercules  right  away  to  the  cape  and  from  Liberia  right  away 
to  Eastern  Africa  by  the  representatives  of  a  Christian  Na- 
tion, and  you  can  take  your  train  at  Capetown  and  go  north 
fifteen  hundred  miles,  and  take  your  train  and  go  to  Khartoum, 
and  find  a  college  at  Khartoum  with  four  thousand  students 
in  it  away  down  there  two  thousand  miles  south  of  the 
Mediterranean  Sea.  And  when  the  Italian  flag  fluttered  from 
the  masthead  in  Tripoli  some  months  ago  practically  the  last 
foot  of  Africa  tinder  the  control  of  heathen  government  came 

199 


MILITANT  METHODISM. 

under  the  control  of  Christian  nations  and  to-day  Africa  is 
an  open  Africa.  And  our  own  Brother  Springer,  away  in  the 
heart  of  the  interior  of  Central  Africa,  is  controlled  and  under 
the  flag  of  and  policed  by  those  who  come  out  with  at  least 
the  higher  ideals  of  Europe. 

You  go  over  to  China,  our  next  field  to  be  occupied. 
There  is  the  miracle  of  the  world,  the  most  stupendous  illus- 
tration of  the  theme  of  the  evening,  not  only  that  can  be 
found  to-night  on  the  face  of  the  earth,  but  that  was  ever 
seen  upon  the  face  of  the  earth  since  Jesus  Christ  hung  on 
the  cross  to  redeem  men  by  His  efficacious  atonement.  I  say, 
there  never  was  such  an  open  country,  considering  the  coun- 
try, considering  the  size,  considering  the  resources,  consider- 
ing the  strategic  relation  to  what  lies  out  yonder  in  the 
great  deeps  of  heathenism,  as  is  presented  to-night  by  an 
opened  China.  I  need  not  take  your  time  nor  attempt 
rhetorical  devices  to  make  this  thing  clear  to  you.  I  simply 
set  it  before  you  as  an  opened  China,  where  one  quarter  of 
the  human  race  to-night  are  as  accessible  to  Christ  as  are 
the  people  in  the  wards  of  Indianapolis  or  Evansville  or 
Kokomo  or  Des  Moines  or  any  other  part  of  the  world.  All 
that  country  that  they  told  us,  when  I  was  a  boy,  could  not 
be  opened,  into  which  we  could  not  enter,  is  wide  open,  free 
territory  for  all  those  who  will  go  in  to  preach  Jesus  Christ 
among  men.  Furthermore,  not  only  is  it  true  of  Africa,  but 
it  is  true  of  China,  that  every  part  of  that  country  is  covered 
with  at  least  a  skeleton  force  of  those  who  are  out  yonder 
for  the  proclamation  of  the  gospel  of  the  Son  of  God.  You  can 
find  in  the  Congo  Land,  in  Algeria,  in  Bechuana  Land,  and 
among  the  Kaffirs,  and  everywhere  in  that  land,  a  network  of 
Christian  agencies.  The  barriers  have  been  torn  down.  A 
skeleton  force  is  there,  from  the  Cape  at  the  South  to  the 
Mediterranean  at  the  North.  And  so  you  wall  find  it  in  China. 
You  can  go  right  away  into  the  extreme  northwest,  about 
Chentu,  and  beyond,  clear  over  into  Tibet,  and  begin  at  the 
borders  of  Tibet  in  the  extreme  west  and  come  down  the  sea 

200 


FORWARD  MARCH !— A  CALL  TO  ADVANCE. 

and  find  that  Central  China  and  South  China  and  North 
China  and  all  China  are  covered  with  a  network  of  Meth- 
odist and  Baptist  and  Presbyterian  and  Congregational  and 
Episcopalian  missions,  and  every  considerable  province  and 
town,  while  we  have  not  evangelized  them,  yet  we  have  a 
beginning  everywhere  in  the  whole  country.  It  is  open,  wide 
open,  to  the  work  of  Christ. 

The  next  great  country  that  our  Church  took  up  was  India. 
We  began  as  a  Church  rather  feeble  as  to  the  number  of  men 
whom  we  sent.  Thomas  Coke,  when  he  went  to  India  to  begin 
his  work  in  1813,  took  six  men  with  him  from  England. 
He  had  greater  courage  than  we  had  when  we  undertook 
foreign  work,  for  when  we  looked  at  Africa  we  sublet  our 
part  to  one  man — he  was  a  single  man  and  a  consumptive; 
and  when  we  let  the  contract  for  China,  we  sent  only  two, 
and  when  we  undertook  to  evangelize  India,  we  sent  one,  but 
if  any  one  concludes  that  we  were  feeble  as  to  the  four,  let 
it  be  remembered  that  we  were  courageous  as  to  the  size  of 
the  field,  for  when  we  undertook  our  third  missionary  task, 
we  laid  our  hands  upon  Africa,  China,  and  India,  with  their 
populations  of  over  eight  hundred  and  fifty  millions  of  peo- 
ple committed  to  us  for  evangelization.  That  was  courage, 
for  we  did  not  have  resources  to  send  as  many  workers.  The 
reason  we  did  not  have  resources  was  because  of  that  condi- 
tion to  which  Bishop  McDowell  alluded  this  morning  when 
he  spoke  of  a  class  of  men  whose  benevolent  impulses  were 
under  perfect  control.  When  we  went  to  India,  India  was 
under  the  control  of  the  British  East  India  Company;  and 
I  am  profoundly  impressed  with  the  guidance  of  God  in  our 
missionary  history,  for  He  sent  us  into  India  at  precisely  the 
right  moment.  Other  missions  had  been  there,  doing  a  blessed 
work,  but  He  sent  us  there  just  at  the  right  time,  when 
Great  Britain  through  the  crown  assumed  charge  of  all  India 
and  threw  down  all  the  barriers  and  let  us  into  a  country 
that  was  wide  open.  We  did  not  have  to  waste  any  time.  I 
speak  with  profound  reverence:  I  think  that  the  Almighty 

201 


MILITANT  METHODISM. 

saw  that  we  had  too  much  to  do  to  go  there  and  sit  down  and 
wait,  so  He  did  not  call  on  the  Methodist  resources  until  He 
was  ready  to  turn  us  loose  in  that  country,  which  was  policed 
by  Great  Britain,  with  British  judges  on  the  bench  and  the 
British  army  keeping  peace  and  British  engineers  making 
roads  and  British  officials  running  postoffices  so  that  we  could 
send  our  invitations  to  Christ  and  give  the  dates  of  our  Con- 
ference sessions  and  plan  the  itinerary  of  our  missionaries. 
What  has  happened  in  India  ?  India  is  opened  in  a  way  that 
fairly  staggers  the  imagination. 

Our  own  magnificent  Thomas  B.  Wood,  still  living — he 
is  from  this  State  and  from  your  own  great  Greencastle — for 
the  last  eleven  years  he  has  been  sitting  down  before  the  gates 
of  Peru,  and  he  has  gone  down  to  Paraguay  and  Uruguay, 
planning  and  working  and  speaking  for  laws  that  would 
guarantee  religious  liberty.  And  one  by  one  Paraguay  has 
opened  its  doors,  and  Uruguay,  Argentine,  Chili  partly,  Bo- 
livia utterly,  Ecuador  utterly,  and  now,  when  I  was  in  London 
the  other  day  I  picked  up  the  Times  in  the  morning  at  the 
home  of  the  man  whose  guest  I  was  and  I  read  this  telegram, 
and  I  was  so  lifted  up  in  spirit  that  I  had  other  meat  to  eat 
than  the  breakfast.  I  had  been  in  Lima  last  winter  when  we 
were  asking  for  religious  liberty.  I  had  preached  sixteen 
times  with  two  policemen  watching  me.  Romanism  is  stronger 
there  than  anywhere  else  on  the  American  continent.  This  is 
the  telegram: 

"  Lima,  Saturday,  October  4,  1913.  The  Chamber  of  Deputies  has  this 
forenoon  passed  a  bill  granting  complete  religious  tolerance  by  a  vote  of  sixty- 
six  to  four." 

And  the  Last  wall  went  down.  By  the  blessing  of  God 
a  Methodist  knocked  it  down,  and  by  the  special  grace  of 
God  he  was  an  Indiana  Methodist  that  knocked  it  down. 
Now,  there  is  South  America  wide  open  to  you,  and  I  affirm 
that  I  would  sooner  be  in  the  place  of  Wood  than  to  have 
any  other  honor  that  men  could  give  me.  To  have  opened 
the  door  of  religious  liberty  to  twenty-five  million  people  is 

202 


FORWARD  MARCH !— A  CALL  TO  ADVANCE. 

a  bigger  work  than  most  of  us  will  ever  accomplish.  That 
is  done.  That  man  is  fitted  for  his  place  with  John  G. 
Paton  and  the  other  great  leaders  of  missionary  work. 

Now,  I  affirm  that  this  open  world  is  a  challenge  to  Meth- 
odist men.  It  is  a  challenge  that  ought  to  appeal  to  us  in  a 
concrete  fashion.  How  shall  we  meet  that  challenge?  Let 
me  put  my  argument  wrong  end  first.  I  had  an  Irish  ancestor. 
Let  me  say  this.  First,  I  want  to  get  clearly  before  you  the 
magnitude  of  the  challenge.  Take  Africa,  for  instance — what 
are  we  going  to  do  for  Africa?  What  does  the  challenge 
mean  to  Africa?  We  have  a  skeleton  force  in  Africa,  we  are 
giving  five  thousand  a  year  to  North  Africa — clear  across  that 
great  country.  Let  me  stand  here  and  put  forth  a  suggestive 
budget  for  North  Africa.  We  ought  to  provide  for  North 
Africa  a  mission  force  of  thirty  trained  men  from  North 
America  in  addition  to  the  present  force.  We  ought  to  have 
fifty  workers  there  within  five  years.  I  am  not  ballooning.  I 
am  a  veteran.  An  amateur  might  say  we  need  one  hundred 
at  once.  You  have  to  digest  missionaries.  If  you  feed  them 
to  us  too  fast,  they  do  not  break  in  well.  Send  us  out  five 
or  eight  good  men  a  year  to  North  Africa.  Then  provide  us 
a  training  school;  and  do  not,  for  the  Lord's  sake,  send  it  to 
Jerusalem,  but  to  North  Africa,  right  in  the  heart  of  our 
job.  That  is  my  opinion.  Let  us  be  where  the  job  is.  Let 
us  train  the  workers  where  the  work  is.  Some  Methodist 
layman  has  a  chance  to  put  it  there.  It  should  be  established 
with  buildings  worth  one  hundred  thousand  dollars  and  en- 
dowed with  two  hundred  thousand  dollars;  and  if  you  will 
do  that  we  will  give  you  a  half-million  converts  in  North 
Africa  within  not  many  years.  We  will  make  the  first  real 
breach  in  that  land.  My  hopes  soar  when  I  see  the  first 
attack  of  the  unlimited  doctrines  of  free  grace  on  the 
Mohammedan  proposition.  There  has  never  been  one  before. 
Our  advance  upon  the  Moslem  situation  has  been  an  advance 
more  or  less  weakened  by  a  background  of  thinking  about  a 
limited  atonement.  This  is  the  first  chance  the  Wesleyan 

203 


MILITANT  METHODISM. 

doctrine  has  ever  had  at  a  solidly  Mohammedan  population, 
and  I  have  great  hopes  that  if  it  be  adequately  backed  we  can 
see  mighty  results.  For  I  have  never  been  persuaded  that  a 
Mohammedan  was  harder  to  reach  than  any  other  sinner,  if 
you  offer  him  Jesus  Christ  and  do  not  quarrel  with  him  be- 
cause he  is  a  Mohammedan.  I  have  no  quarrel  with  a 
Mohammedan.  I  go  to  a  man  because  he  is  a  poor,  heart- 
broken captive  of  sin,  and  I  preach  the  gospel  that  can  open 
the  door.  That  is  our  mission. 

Now  go  down  to  "West  Africa.  Let  us  take  that  Liberia 
mission  and  give  it  a  budget  of  about  fifty  thousand  dollars 
and  a  plant  worth  about  one  hundred  thousand  dollars.  Then 
go  down  to  Angola  and  give  them  the  same  budget,  and  then 
go  on  up  to  East  Africa.  And  by  that  time  you  would  have  a 
budget  of  about  two  hundred  and  twenty-five  thousand  dollars 
to  give  in  Africa  instead  of  a  beggarly  little  budget  of  seventy 
or  eighty  thousand  dollars.  Here  is  a  challenge  to  Methodist 
men,  a  definite  proposition  of  what  we  will  do  in  open  Africa. 

Go  to  China — what  is  needed  there  ?  I  will  tell  you.  We 
ought  to  put  into  each  of  our  five  colleges  in  China  at  least 
two  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  dollars.  I  was  greatly  pleased 
that  Bishop  Anderson  told  us  of  that  story  about  the  rich  lay- 
man in  New  York.  We  must  get  through  expecting  to  do 
great  things  on  the  foreign  field  with  nickels.  We  must  move 
out  of  small  things  if  we  expect  to  do  our  work.  We  must 
move  up  to  a  great  program.  In  China  we  ought  to  have  at 
least  a  million  dollars  for  our  educational  work,  right  off. 
That  is  safely  and  sanely  within  the  facts.  We  ought  to  have 
an  increase  in  our  annual  budget  of  about  twenty-five  thou- 
sand dollars  a  year  for  five  years,  and  then  stay  there. 

In  India  we  ought  to  put  into  Reid  College  a  big  endow- 
ment and  double  or  treble  our  part,  and  then  go  down  to  our 
five  theological  schools  in  India  and  put  them  on  their  feet 
with  buildings  and  men. 

Now,  what  will  you  do  in  South  America?  What  do  you 
need  in  South  America?  We  have  not  in  all  South  America 

201 


FORWARD  MARCH!— A  CALL  TO  ADVANCE. 

as  much  money  spent  annually  as  they  spend  on  the  Wilkes- 
barre  District  of  Wyoming  Conference  under  the  two  heads 
of  pastor's  salary  and  incidental  expenses;  that  is  all  you 
are  spending  in  the  endeavor  to  convert  seven  Republics  in 
South  America  wide  open  to  you.  Let  us  have  one  hundred 
and  fifteen  thousand  dollars  «next  year,  one  hundred  and 
twenty  thousand  dollars  the  next,  one  hundred  and  twenty- 
five  thousand  dollars  the  next  year,  and  put  us  up  to  about 
one  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  dollars  in  ten  years,  and  give 
us  a  million  dollars  in  Buenos  Ayres,  the  greatest  city  in  the 
world  south  of  the  equator.  The  Church  that  depends  only 
upon  evangelization  will  be  a  spent  force  within  two  genera- 
tions of  the  time  it  is  born.  We  must  find  and  put  into 
leadership  such  men  as  have  come  out  of  Northwestern,  De- 
Pauw,  Allegheny,  Old  Wesleyan,  and  out  of  our  theological 
schools,  if  we  are  to  keep  and  maintain  leadership  in  the 
evangelization  of  that  continent. 

Just  this  last  word:  we  are  never  going  to  meet  this  chal- 
lenge by  talking  about  budgets.  Just  this  last  sentence — O 
brothers,  will  you  hear  this?  We  will  never  get  the  budgets 
I  have  been  talking  about  except  from  hearts  that  are  en- 
tirely filled  with  the  Holy  Ghost  and  the  love  of  God.  Our 
fathers  were  driven  over  these  prairies  and  went  to  India 
and  to  China  with  hearts  aflame  with  the  love  of  Christ.  Let 
us  not  imagine  that  the  adoption  of  budgets  or  the  proclaim- 
ing of  plans  is  going  to  save  the  world.  It  is  only  by  a 
Church  that  is  all  penetrated  with  the  spirit  and  love  of 
Jesus  Christ  that  we  are  going  to  find  the  money  and  the 
young  men  and  young  women  who  will  lay  their  lives  upon 
the  altar  and  lead  this  whole  open  world  to  a  saving  knowl- 
edge of  our  Lord  and  Savior  Jesus  Christ.  God  grant  that 
we  Methodists  may  be  worthy  of  our  place  in  this  vast  plan 
of  God. 


205 


MILITANT  METHODISM. 

The  Call  to  World  Conquest. 
J.  CAMPBELL  WHITE. 

I  HAVE  been  speaking  for  ten  years,  since  coming  back  from 
India,  to  representative  gatherings  of  men  in  practically  all 
the  great  cities  of  North  America,  but  I  declare  to  you  that 
never  in  ray  life  have  I  had  a  greater  sense  of  responsibility 
than  I  have  to-night  in  view  of  the  outreach  and  possibilities 
of  the  great  gathering  of  men  here  related  to  your  own 
Church  with  its  millions  of  members,  and  through  that  Church 
to  the  whole  of  Protestant  Christendom.  I  hope  I  may  have 
your  prayers  that  I  may  be  guided  in  what  I  say. 

The  plan  of  redemption  was  a  necessity  with  God,  and 
missions  are  not  any  subordinate  part  of  the  Church  of  God. 
"If  you  would  make  the  greatest  success  of  your  life,"  some 
one  said  a  great  many  years  ago,  "try  to  discover  what  God 
is  doing  in  your  time  and  fling  yourself  into  the  accomplish- 
ment of  His  purpose  and  will."  I  know  of  no  better  rule 
than  that  for  attaining  certain  success  in  life,  and  if  I  am 
any  judge  at  all  of  what  God  is  doing  in  our  time,  and  it 
has  been  my  main  study  for  twenty  years  to  find  out,  I  be- 
lieve the  thing  He  is  doing  unmistakably  is  opening  all  the 
avenues  of  the  world  to  the  spread  of  His  gospel,  and  asking 
His  Church  to  be  His  messengers  to  speed  it  to  the  last  nation 
and  the  last  man  on  the  face  of  the  earth.  And  deeper  and 
deeper  grows  the  conviction  in  my  own  soul,  and  it  has  been 
growing  for  twenty  years,  that  the  only  rational  interpreta- 
tion of  the  great  commission  is  that  when  Jesus  Christ  said, 
' '  Preach  the  gospel  to  every  creature, ' '  He  meant  His  people 
in  every  age  to  undertake  to  do  it.  And  that  means  that  we 
of  our  day  must  plan  the  universal  propagation  of  this  gospel 
in  our  time.  I  was  profoundly  impressed  by  the  statement 
of  Dr.  Barber,  the  secretary  of  the  American  Baptist  Foreign 
Missionary  Society,  after  a  trip  around  the  world,  that  the 
thing  that  impressed  him  most  in  all  the  lands  he  visited 
was  the  vast  unnumbered  multitudes,  and  he  said,  "I  did 

206 


FORWARD  MARCH !— A  CALL  TO  ADVANCE. 

not  see  one  person  in  all  the  lands  to  which  I  went  that 
I  thought  could  afford  to  wait  until  some  future  generation 
to  meet  the  first  messenger  of  Jesus  Christ."  They  can 
not  afford  to  wait,  but  they  must  wait  until  we  go,  for  the 
world  is  redeemed  but  it  does  not  know  it,  and  it  never 
will  until  some  human  messenger  tells  it  of  the  redemption 
that  Christ  purchased  for  all  mankind  nearly  two  thousand 
years  ago.  Up  across  the  great  National  Convention  some 
three  years  ago  was  this,  "This  is  the  only  generation  we 
can  reach  and  we  are  the  only  people  that  can  reach  this 
generation,"  and  the  obligation  is  squarely  upon  the  men 
of  our  day  to  plan  the  universal  propagation  of  Christianity. 
Now,  I  have  absolutely  no  sympathy  with  any  separation 
between  the  different  classes  of  missionary  work.  I  believe 
that  whoever  sets  home  mission  work  of  any  kind  over 
against  foreign  missionary  work,  or  foreign  missionary  work 
over  against  home  missionary  work,  thus  dividing  the  forces 
and  bringing  them  into  conflict  and  competition  with  each 
other  in  the  extension  of  the  Kingdom  of  Christ,  is  the  enemy 
of  the  whole  cause.  Our  Lord  gave  us  a  universal  program 
when  He  said,  "Ye  shall  receive  power  after  that  the  Holy 
Ghost  has  come  upon  you,  and  ye  shall  be  My  witnesses  in 
Jerusalem  and  Judea  and  Samaria  and  unto  the  uttermost 
parts  of  the  earth."  He  said  it  stronger  than  that,  "Both  in 
Judea  and  Samaria,  and  unto  the  uttermost  parts  of  the 
earth."  Divine  resources  are  promised  for  a  universal 
program,  and  no  man  has  any  right  to  claim  the  power  of 
God  for  a  part  of  that  program.  And  only  when  we  under- 
take the  plainly  revealed  will  of  Christ  for  the  world  have 
we  any  right  to  come  into  His  presence  and  claim  any  of 
His  resources  with  which  to  carry  out  His  program.  We 
shall  fail  except  as  we  have  divine  energies  released  through 
us.  Human  energies  are  incompetent  to  deal  with  the  prob- 
lem of  any  single  sin-sick  human  soul,  even  in  our  Western 
so-called  Christian  lands.  Divine  power  is  necessary  for  the 
salvation  of  any  man  anywhere,  and  when  you  get  into  the 

207 


MILITANT  METHODISM. 

realm  of  Divinity,  God  is  able  to  carry  out  the  plan  that 
He  Himself  has  made.  We  must  undertake,  therefore,  His 
whole  program.  If  there  is  anything  that  ought  to  be 
inspiring  to  us  in  this  Convention,  it  is  that  the  whole 
aggressive  official  forces  of  your  Church  are  here  on  a  united 
program  asking  you  to  carry  out  what  is  indicated  in  Acts 
1 : 8,  and  receive  the  power  from  on  High  that  is  promised 
and  then  be  His  witnesses  in  Jerusalem — both  in  Jerusalem 
and  in  Judea  and  all  Samaria  and  unto  the  uttermost  parts 
of  the  earth.  And  it  is  a  great  encouragement  to  me  that 
we  are  getting  together  on  this  program  as  denominations. 
I  believe  it  is  one  of  the  indications  of  surely  coming  vic- 
tory. For  my  Lord  prayed,  away  back  in  John,  seventeenth 
chapter,  "That  they  all  may  be  one;  as  Thou,  Father,  art  in 
Me,  and  I  in  Thee,  that  they  also  may  be  one  m  us. ' '  Why  ? 
"That  the  world  may  believe  that  Thou  hast  sent  Me."  In 
view  of  that  great  high-priestly  prayer  wrere  wrought  these 
two  conceptions,  the  unity  of  His  spiritual  body  and  the  uni- 
versatility  of  His  gospel.  And  they  are  going  to  come  to- 
gether in  history,  and  they  may  come  together  in  your  life- 
time and  mine  if  we  do  our  duty. 

Out  yonder  on  the  mission  field  they  have  got  to  the 
point  where  they  are  able  to  divide  up  great  sections  into 
districts  and  trust  the  various  evangelical  Churches  to 
preach  an  adequate  gospel  in  those  districts.  Colonel  Hal- 
ford  was  at  the  head  of  the  Evangelical  Alliance  in  the 
Philippines  that  sliced  up  the  whole  country  as  you  would 
slice  up  a  pie,  and  gave  the  Methodists  one  section  and  the 
Presbyterians  another,  and  so  on  clear  around  the  circle.  A 
splendid  way  to  divide  up  all  our  mission  fields.  I  have  a 
map  of  Korea  showing  where  the  different  denominations  are 
at  work.  Thoy  have  divided  the  territory  and  straightened 
the  lines  so  that  each  denomination  may  know  exactly  how 
much  its  obligation  is.  Bishop  Harris  told  me,  in  the  capital 
of  Korea  two  years  ago,  that  in  order  to  do  this  the  Meth- 
odists had  traded  off  twelve  thousand  Methodist  converts  to 

208 


FORWARD  MARCH!— A  CALL  TO  ADVANCE. 

the  Presbyterians,  but  he  went  on  to  say  in  the  same  breath, 
"I  think  we  got  the  best  of  the  trade."  I  do  not  know 
whether  he  did  or  not,  but  I  know  it  is  an  enormous  advantage 
in  Korea  for  a  native  Christian  to  be  a  member  of  whatever 
Church  he  happens  to  be  nearest  to.  When  he  moves  from 
one  province  to  another  his  Church  membership  changes  auto- 
matically and  he  does  not  keep  his  letter  in  his  trunk  for  five 
or  ten  years,  the  way  so  many  people  do  in  this  country.  It 
may  take  us  a  little  while  to  get  to  that  point  in  this  country, 
but  the  men  face  to  face  with  heathenism  have  felt  that  the 
difference  between  all  our  evangelical  Churches  is  so  small  in 
comparison  with  the  difference  between  any  particular  forms 
of  religion  and  heathenism  that  we  simply  must  get  together 
in  order  to  publish  the  glad  tidings  around  the  world.  And 
so,  even  in  theological  seminaries,  they  have  been  able  to  unite 
four  or  five  denominations  and  two  or  three  nationalities  on 
the  foreign  mission  field.  In  one  city  of  China  the  Northern 
Methodists  are  in  the  southern  part  of  the  city  and  the  South- 
ern Presbyterians  in  the  northern  part  of  the  city ;  and  some 
of  the  Chinese  said,  "You  can  not  teach  us  religion;  you  do 
not  know  even  the  points  of  the  compass." 

Now,  it  is  possible  that  Bishop  Stuntz  has  attended  a 
theological  seminary  that  would  enable  him  to  define  free 
grace  in  a  way  that  would  not  be  satisfactory  to  me,  but  I 
would  like  to  see  him  try  it.  I  have  been  in  missionary  coun- 
cils of  all  denominations  and  all  nations  for  twenty  years 
on  a  half-dozen  continents,  and  I  have  yet  to  hear  from  any 
missionary  representing  any  of  these  forces  the  first  echo  of 
doubt  about  the  fact  that  the  love  of  God  is  strong  enough 
and  the  grace  of  Christ  is  broad  enough  to  include  all  hu- 
manity. I  do  not  believe  that  Presbyterian  or  Dutch  Reformed 
or  Episcopalian  any  more  than  Methodists  are  going  to  spend 
their  lives  in  Africa  or  China  or  India  unless  they  believe 
that  Jesus  Christ  gave  Himself  a  ransom  for  all  and  that 
God  so  loved  the  world  that  whosoever  believeth  on  Him  may 
find  eternal  life  in  Him.  Why,  when  they  got  a  half-dozen 
"  209 


MILITANT  METHODISM. 

denominations  over  there  in  Nanking,  China,  they  decided 
they  would  keep  the  Chinese  a  couple  of  weeks  at  the  end 
of  the  year  and  teach  them  the  denominational  tenets  of  the 
different  Churches  that  were  co-operating.  That  worked  out 
all  right  until  the  end  of  the  year,  and  then  the  Chinese 
insisted  on  going  into  all  the  classes  so  they  might  find  out 
what  all  the  denominations  believed.  These  Chinese  can  make 
their  own  theology  if  we  give  them  the  Bible,  and  I  am  not 
so  much  concerned  to  have  the  Presbyterian  Church  or  the 
Methodist  Church  established  as  that  all  may  come  together  to 
work  for  all  the  world.  My  dear  friend,  Dr.  Watson,  who  has 
been  a  leading  foreign  missionary  man  in  the  United  Presby- 
terian Church  of  which  I  was  speaking  this  afternoon  and 
which  is  getting  a  good  deal  of  publicity  because  of  his  mis- 
sionary record,  said  a  very  subtle  thing  to  me  the  other  day: 
' '  I  am  not  sure  that  God  can  afford  to  let  one  Church  get  very 
far  ahead  of  another  in  this  business.  They  turn  Pharisee  very 
quick  when  they  get  a  little  ahead  of  some  one  else.  I  do  not 
believe  any  of  our  Churches  should  get  far  enough  ahead  to 
have  any  chestiness  about  it.  I  believe  we  all  ought  to  work  in 
harmony,  we  oiight  to  get  together  that  we  may  not  lose  any- 
thing in  friction,  but  may  turn  all  the  friction  into  energy 
for  the  propagation  of  the  gospel." 

Now,  there  are  some  great  outstanding  problems,  some  of 
which  Dr.  Oldham  referred  to  yesterday,  and  one  is  the 
call  of  the  world.  They  have  given  me  the  same  topic  to- 
night, and  I  want  to  just  touch  three  or  four  of  the  out- 
standing problems  and  bring  them  in  review  before  you, 
calling  attention  to  some  of  the  things  that  challenge  us. 
First  of  all,  I  want  you  to  recognize  that  there  is  tremendous 
improvement.  The  man  who  said  the  Laymen's  Missionary 
Convention  at  Chicago  was  all  "ration,  oration,  and  evapora- 
tion," did  not  know  the  power,  the  inspiration  and  vision  that 
came  through  that  gathering.  I  have  met  men  all  over  this 
country,  from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Pacific,  who  have  been 
leading  a  different  life  since  the  Convention  in  Chicago. 

210 


FORWARD  MARCH !— A  CALL  TO  ADVANCE. 

I  will  meet  men  from  one  coast  to  the  other,  if  it  is  my 
privilege  to  live  five  years,  I  believe  hundreds  of  men — I  hope, 
two  thousand  men — from  this  Convention  who  will  look 
back  to  it  as  a  time  of  mountain  top  vision  when  they  saw 
things  more  clearly  and  put  themselves  more  irrevocably  into 
the  purposes  of  God.  The  fact  is  that  the  last  six  or  seven 
years  have  witnessed  the  most  wonderful  growth  of  missionary 
interests  and  contributions  recorded  in  human  history.  In 
1907  the  foreign  missionary  contribution  of  America  was 
$8,500,000,  last  year  (1912)  it  was  $14,942,000,  and  this  year 
it  was  nearly  $17,000,000 — an  increase  of  more  than  a  mil- 
lion dollars  each  for  the  last  seven  years  on  the  part  of  our 
Protestant  Churches.  Now,  that  is  an  unprecedented  advance. 
I  can  not  give  you  so  accurately  the  increase  for  home  mis- 
sions, but  it  is  very  much  larger  than  the  increase  in  foreign 
missions,  and,  more  than  that,  the  increase  in  the  contri- 
butions of  Churches  in  this  country  for  the  last  year  has 
been  far  greater  than  the  increase  in  the  amount  given  to 
foreign  missions  and  to  home  missions.  That  God  is  putting 
the  seal  of  His  approval  upon  this  agitation  is  evident  from 
the  financial  returns  in  the  various  Churches,  and  I  want  no 
man  to  be  discouraged  with  the  progress  that  is  made.  We 
are  just  getting  ready  to  do  tremendous  work  in  the  next 
few  years.  It  has  been  five  or  six  years  since  the  leaders  of 
the  various  denominations  were  persuaded  to  try  the  new 
plan.  Your  own  Church  only  got  to  the  point  of  adopting  the 
method  that  will  solve  this  problem  at  the  last  General  Con- 
ference. Other  Churches  have  only  just  gotten  to  the  point. 
There  is  not  any  large  denomination  left  on  this  continent 
that  is  sticking  to  its  old,  outworn  annual  collection  system. 
That  is  a  tremendous  thing  to  be  able  to  say :  that  in  the  last 
ten  years  the  financial  methods  of  the  Churches  of  this  con- 
tinent have  been  revolutionized.  That  is  true  absolutely. 
And  the  next  ten  years  will  be  required  in  order  to  see  any- 
thing like  the  proper  full  fruitage  of  the  change  in  the  whole 
financial  system  of  our  Churches. 

211 


MILITANT  METHODISM. 

Now,  there  are  two  tremendous  problems  facing  us.  One 
of  them  is  the  problem  of  immigration,  to  which  that  wonder- 
ful reference  was  made  last  night  by  Bishop  Hughes.  Just 
a  fact  about  immigration:  about  a  million  people  coming,  in 
round  numbers,  and  about  a  quarter  of  a  million  a  year  re- 
turning. Let  us  not  fail  to  put  emphasis  on  the  fact  of  this 
great  army  going  back  each  year.  Why  do  I  put  emphasis 
upon  it?  Because  it  is  the  shuttle  between  our  civilization 
and  the  old,  effete  civilization,  in  many  cases,  of  the  continent 
of  Europe,  and  the  steady  stream  going  back  constitutes  a 
marvelous  opportunity  of  getting  back  new  streams  of  life  into 
these  old  civilizations.  It  is,  therefore,  our  National  peril 
or  opportunity,  this  immigration  problem. 

And  along  with  that  is  the  other  great  problem  of  Chris- 
tianizing our  whole  civilization,  social,  industrial,  political, 
economical,  not  only  for  its  own  sake  and  our  national  future 's 
sake,  but  in  order  that  our  Nation  may  have  a  testimony 
among  the  other  nations  of  the  earth  of  which  it  need  not  be 
ashamed.  It  is  a  terrible  indictment  of  our  so-called  Chris- 
tian civilization  that  Japan  has  learned  to  put  her  children 
in  the  factories  from  us.  Not  until  she  sent  her  men  scouting 
all  over  the  world  to  see  how  things  were  done  in  the  most 
advanced  civilized  nations  of  the  earth  did  she  have  the  hor- 
rible practice  that  has  grown  up  among  us  of  putting  these 
tender  little  children — who  ought  to  be  in  school — at  work  in 
the  factories.  Now,  the  whole  impact  of  our  civilization  upon 
the  rest  of  the  human  race  must  be  Christianized,  so  that  we 
shall  not  belie  with  one  mouth  and  with  one  voice  what  we  are 
trying  to  enforce  with  another.  God  has  opened  up  to  us 
very  marvelously  the  Mohammendan  world,  and  there  are  two 
hundred  millions  of  people  in  it ;  they  have  been  humbled  by 
these  recent  wars  as  never  before  for  many  centuries,  and 
they  are  open  as  never  before  to  aggressive  missionary  work. 
The  United  Presbyterian  Church,  which  has  been  at  work  for 
fifty  years  in  Egypt,  has  not  until  within  the  last  year  been 
able  to  go  out  in  open  evangelistic  preaching  on  the  streets, 

212 


FORWAKD  MARCH !— A  CALL  TO  ADVANCE. 

but  this  year  it  has  been  able  to  do  that  in  country  districts, 
among  the  Moslems,  without  creating  riot  and  bloodshed.  The 
whole  Mohammedan  world  is  open  to  our  preaching  and  in- 
fluence as  never  before.  I  am  very  glad  that  your  Church 
among  others  is  enlarging  its  work  for  Moslems.  Do  not  get 
the  idea  that  we  are  not  accomplishing  anything  among  them. 
There  are  two  hundred  native  preachers  in  India  who  are 
converts  from  Mohammedanism.  There  are  forty  thousand 
converts  from  Islam  in  the  island  of  Java  alone,  and  up  the 
Nile  Valley  there  are  Moslem  converts  some  of  whom  are 
marvels  of  knowledge,  graduates  of  the  great  Mohammedan 
University  at  Cairo,  who  have  come  into  contact  with  the  mis- 
sionaries in  that  Nile  Valley  and  now  challenge  the  Moham- 
medans in  debate ;  one  of  them,  Monseur,  coming  back  to  the 
shadows  of  the  Mohammedan  University  from  which  he  was 
graduated,  challenges  all  comers  to  debate  the  merits  of 
Mohammedanism  and  Christianity,  and  the  greatest  building 
they  could  get  was  packed  night  after  night,  and  so  mar- 
velously  did  he  debate  Christianity  to  the  great  Moslem  audi- 
ence that  they,  being  the  judges,  acknowledged  that  he  com- 
pletely outwitted  any  man  who  would  stand  up  against  him, 
so  that  the  daily  Mohammedan  press  in  Cairo  sent  out  a  chal- 
lenge, saying,  "Is  there  no  man  in  all  Egypt  who  can  stand 
up  and  put  this  man  to  shame  in  public  debate?"  It  is  true 
that  the  Mohammedan  world  is  being  powerfully  influenced, 
but  the  few  that  have  had  the  boldness  to  come  out  and  con- 
fess Christ  are  only  the  advance  guard  of  the  great  army 
that  has  been  prepared  spiritually  and  intellectually  to  take 
that  step  in  the  next  few  years.  Right  across  the  heart  of 
Africa  we  have  the  great  problem  of  deciding  whether  Mo- 
hammedans are  going  to  reach  those  fifty  million  pagans 
before  the  Christians  reach  them.  In  that  continent  of  one 
hundred  and  fifty  million  people  the  central  problem  is 
whether  those  pagans  living  in  the  heart  of  the  continent 
are  going  to  be  made  Moslems  before  we  get  there  with  the 
Christian  message.  Mohammedan  traders  are  moving  down 

213 


MILITANT  METHODISM. 

across  the  heart  of  Africa  at  a  hundred  points,  and  every 
Mohammedan  trader  is  a  propagator  of  his  religion,  not  be- 
cause he  desires  the  spiritual  benefit  of  those  people,  but  be- 
cause the  larger  number  of  converts  he  makes,  the  larger  is 
his  constituency.  A  friend  of  mine  went  down  to  Nigeria 
twenty  years  ago;  at  that  time  in  its  greatest  city  there  was 
only  a  Mohammedan  now  and  again,  and  no  Mohammedan 
mosque;  to-day  there  are  sixty-six  Mohammedan  mosques  in 
that  city,  all  built  and  patronized  by  Mohammedans.  The 
Mohammedans  are  advancing  across  that  continent,  and  the 
men  of  our  decade  must  decide  whether  those  fifty  millions 
of  people  are  going  to  be  Moslems  or  Christians  in  our  life- 
time. We  had  a  striking  picture  last  night  of  India,  the  land 
to  which  I  gave  ten  years  of  my  life,  and  I  feel  that  in  some 
ways  it  is  the  ripest  field  in  all  the  world,  with  three  hundred 
and  fifteen  millions  of  people,  with  this  great  low-caste  move- 
ment involving  sixty  millions  of  people,  about  whom  Dr. 
Oldham  and  Bishop  Stuntz  told  us  yesterday.  When  I  was 
in  India  ten  years  ago,  they  put  tremendous  emphasis  upon 
every  man  who  really  believed  in  Christ  to  come  out  and  con- 
fess Him,  and  to  the  people  it  meant  the  severance  of  family 
relations,  disinheritance,  and  the  risk  of  life.  A  little  bit 
later  many  missionaries  encouraged  these  individual  converts 
to  wait  until  they  could  bring  their  whole  families  with  them 
and  thus  be  the  point  of  contact  between  the  missionaries  and 
the  gospel  and  their  own  loved  ones.  A  little  later,  instead  of 
encouraging  a  family  to  come  out  from  its  community  and  to 
be  ostracized,  some  missionaries  who  have  been  far-sighted 
have  been  encouraging  them  to  remain,  that  they  might  im- 
pregnate their  whole  community  with  the  gospel  spirit  and 
lead  them  to  come  out  on  the  Christian  side. 

The  most  marvelous  message  which  I  have  yet  received 
from  the  mission  fields,  I  received  the  other  day  from  one 
of  your  own  missionaries,  with  a  paragraph  from  a  letter  just 
received  from  Bishop  Warne,  and  I  have  additional  evidence 
of  it  in  the  Indian  Witness,  that  comes  from  Calcutta  week 

214 


FORWARD  MARCH !— A  CALL  TO  ADVANCE. 

by  week.  Bishop  Warne  says  that  the  Methodist  missionaries 
in  the  Delhi  District  in  India  have  just  been  meeting  two 
hundred  "head  men"  of  two  hundred  communities,  and  these 
two  hundred  men,  with  the  consent  of  their  communities,  have 
promised  the  missionary  forces  that  their  communities,  as 
communities,  would  surrender  their  idolatrous  practices  and 
cut  out  all  their  heathenish  methods  and  put  themselves 
definitely  under  Christian  discipline  and  instruction  if  the 
missionaries  were  prepared  to  take  them  in.  And  messages 
coming  week  by  week  through  the  Indian  Witness  are  that 
there  are  a  hundred  thousand  of  these  low-caste  people  at 
this  moment  knocking  at  Methodist  doors  in  India.  When 
Bishop  Thoburn  went  out  to  India  there  was  just  one  Meth- 
odist convert  on  your  rolls.  To-day  there  are  two  hundred 
and  fifty  thousand,  and  one  hundred  thousand  more  asking 
admission.  Yesterday  Bishop  Oldhara  and  Bishop  Stuntz  in- 
dependently, without  hearing  each  other,  on  this  platform 
made  this  statement,  that  the  Methodist  Church  could  take 
in  a  million  converts  in  India  in  the  next  ten  years  if  you 
would  take  in  those  that  were  coming  and  asking  for  admis- 
sion. Gentlemen,  if  any  voice  from  the  open  sky  could  move 
a  company  of  men  like  this,  ought  not  such  a  statement  do 
it  ?  I  believe  these  men  have  made  conservative  statements  in 
what  they  have  said,  that  a  million  people  might  be  added  to 
your  Church  in  that  single  field  in  the  next  ten  years.  Will 
we  do  it,  or  supinely  go  away  and  close  the  doors  on  these 
tens  of  thousands  of  earnest  seekers?  I  asked  Bishop  Stuntz 
what  it  would  cost  to  look  after  this  additional  million  that 
ought  to  be  taken  in.  He  said,  "Somewhere  from  one  hun- 
dred thousand  to  a  hundred  and  twenty-five  thousand  dollars 
a  year."  Think  of  it!  For  a  million  dollars  we  could  prob- 
ably turn  the  tide  in  the  next  ten  years  and  take  in  that 
million  that  we  are  not  prepared  to  take  in  now.  And  for 
something  like  a  dollar  apiece!  Dr.  Goucher  during  twenty 
years  invested  one  hundred  thousand  dollars  in  a  district  yon- 
der in  India.  At  the  end  of  twenty  years  there  were  fifty 

215 


MILITANT  METHODISM. 

thousand  Methodist  converts  in  that  district.  I  believe  now, 
with  India  in  the  dead-ripe  condition  it  is  in,  it  would  be 
possible  for  men  ready  to  make  gilt-edged  investments  per- 
haps to  bring  in  this  extra  million  of  people  at  an  average 
cost  of  not  over  one  dollar  per  convert.  I  am  willing  to 
join  the  Methodists  to  this  extent,  of  being  one  of  a  thou- 
sand men  who  will  give  out  of  their  own  pockets  a  million 
dollars  to  make  that  thing  possible.  I  do  not  see  how,  in  the 
presence  of  an  opportunity  like  that,  backed  up  by  your  own 
experienced  and  responsible  leaders,  we  dare  sit  here  in  the 
presence  of  God  and  do  nothing. 

The  situation  in  South  America — instead  of  the  paltry 
fifty  thousand  or  one  hundred  thousand  dollars  that  Bishop 
Stuntz  is  asking,  they  ought  to  have  a  million  dollars.  Mexico, 
Central  America,  Cuba,  South  America,  have  seventy  million 
people,  more  than  one-half  of  them  of  illegitimate  birth, 
and  far  more  absolutely  illiterate;  and  the  Methodist 
Church  is  the  leading  Christian  agency  among  the  seventy 
million.  All  Protestant  Churches  put  together  have  only 
five  hundred  and  thirty-one  ordained  missionaries  among  the 
seventy  million,  or  only  an  average  of  one  to  every  one  hun- 
dred and  thirty-one  thousand  of  the  population.  You  can  not 
afford  to  invest  Bishop  Stuntz  in  Latin  America  unless  you 
put  several  hundred  missionaries  alongside  of  him.  and  a 
million  dollars  for  the  redemption  of  that  continent.  But 
North  America  must  solve  the  religious  problem  of  this 
hemisphere.  We  have  kept  out  other  nations  by  our  Monroe 
Doctrine,  and  by  our  spiritual  Monroe  Doctrine  we  have  to 
enlarge  our  missionary  forces  and  save  this  whole  great  conti- 
nent. 

I  have  not  said  anything  yet  about  China,  which  is,  I 
suppose,  the  leading  nation  in  the  appeal  to  the  world,  where 
one-fourth  of  the  race  is  in  transition  and  holding  out  plead- 
ing hands,  praying  to  Heaven  and  to  us,  saying,  ' '  What  have 
you  to  teach  us?"  And  we  can  turn  the  tide  in  China  in 
this  decade  if  we  will.  My  brethren,  are  we  ready  for  this 

216 


FORWARD  MARCH !— A  CALL  TO  ADVANCE. 

responsibility,  or  are  we  going  to  plead  the  idea  of  saving 
the  world  and  then  let  somebody  else  do  it?  Mr.  Taylor  was 
talking  this  morning  about  four  million  dollars  for  missions. 
I  have  made  a  life  study  of  the  forces  needed  to  occupy  and 
evangelize  the  field.  I  want  to  say  to  this  great  Methodist 
company,  to  whom  I  have  no  responsibility  except  the  re- 
sponsibility I  owe  my  Lord,  that  you  can  not  evangelize  the 
people  in  your  fields  unless  you  multiply  over  and  over  again 
the  amount  you  are  now  giving.  I  want  to  say  to  you  that 
I  believe  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  with  three  million 
of  members  ought  not  to  rest  day  or  night  until  you  have 
adopted  a  policy  of  raising  at  least  an  average  of  five  dollars 
per  member  per  year  for  home  and  foreign  missionary  work 
combined.  That  would  be  fifteen  million  dollars  a  year.  That 
would  be  less  than  half  you  are  spending  for  your  own  con- 
gregational expenses.  That  is  entirely  possible  to  any  con- 
gregation that  really  desires  to  see  Jesus  Christ  made  King 
of  this  world ;  and  you  can  not  face  Christ,  and  I  do  not  see 
how  as  sensible  business  men  you  can  face  each  other  and 
talk  about  this  problem,  and  offer  to  Christ  less  than  two 
street  car  tickets  a  week  for  the  redemption  of  these  people 
in  China.  Two  street  car  fares  a  week  is  five  dollars  a  year, 
and  it  would  be  fifteen  million  dollars  a  year  from  your  great 
Church ;  that  would  be  seven  and  a  half  million  dollars  a  year 
for  foreign  missions  and  as  much  for  home  missions.  Are 
there  any  of  you  good  business  men  who  will  tell  me  how 
long  it  would  take  by  spending  seven  and  a  half  million 
dollars  on  each  of  the  one  hundred  and  fifty  million  of  people 
in  your  parish  abroad?  How  do  you  calculate  that?  Seven 
and  a  half  millions  a  year  among  a  hundred  and  fifty  millions 
of  people  would  take  about  twenty  years  to  spend  one  dollar 
on  each  of  the  people  who  wait  on  the  Methodist  Church  for 
their  first  news  of  Jesus  Christ.  If  you  want  to  do  the  thing 
any  cheaper  than  that  you  will  have  to  get  somebody  else  than 
me  to  give  you  counsel  about  it.  You  want  to  do  it  and  you 
can  do  it,  and  if  you  do  it — hear  me — if  you  do  it,  the 

217 


MILITANT  METHODISM. 

Churches  of  Christendom  will  follow  you  in  that  great  first 
crusade.  No  body  of  three  millions  of  people  in  this  favored 
land  can  move  out  to  its  world  problem  in  that  way  without 
shaking  the  earth  on  its  foundations  and  filling  all  the  realms 
of  glory  with  hallelujahs. 

The  prayer  of  years  and  years  has  been  answered  since 
I  came  to  this  meeting.  For  ten  years  at  least  I  have  been 
praying  that  soon  somebody  would  see  the  vision  of  the  world 
open  and  decide  to  give  at  least  a  million  dollars  to  spread 
the  gospel  in  it,  and  yesterday  my  friend  Cory,  who  spoke  on 
this  problem,  told  me  of  a  dear  friend  of  mine  in  this  country 
who  has  been  the  first  man  to  step  up  and  say,  "I  will  put 
down  a  million  dollars  for  the  spread  of  the  gospel."  If  I 
had  been  asked  six  months  ago  what  the  comparative  proba- 
bilities of  the  Disciple  Church  raising  five  million  dollars  or 
the  Methodist  Church  raising  twenty-five  million  dollars,  I 
would  have  said  without  hesitation  that  the  Methodist  Church 
would  raise  twenty-five  million  dollars  before  the  Disciple 
Church  would  raise  five,  but  they  have  raised  their  first  mil- 
lion and  started  on  their  two-million  campaign,  and  now  one 
of  them  says,  "For  the  glory  of  God  I  put  a  million  dollars 
down  at  your  disposal,  and  I  want  you  to  raise  five  million." 
I  heard  a  man  on  this  platform  say  to-day  that  there  are 
twenty-five  men  at  least  in  the  Methodist  Church  each  one 
of  whom  could  give  a  million  dollars  in  a  single  lump  to  the 
spread  of  the  gospel  in  the  world  and  never  know  the  differ- 
ence except  the  difference  in  his  bank  account.  Brethren, 
with  wealth  like  that  in  your  hands  and  with  millions  of  peo- 
ple who  can  give  their  systematic  amounts  week  by  week, 
shall  we  hesitate  on  the  threshold  of  the  world's  most 
marvelous  opportunity  to  go  forward  under  the  leadership  of 
the  Son  of  God  to  capture  this  world  for  Him? 


218 


PART  IV. 

Actualizing  the  Program. 


/>rti3 

OF  course,  the  New  Day  can  mean  only  a  new  mood  in  men.    The  sun- 
shine smiling  upon  an  uninhabited  desert  does  not  make  a  new  morning 
that  has  human  significance.     Hut  when  that  sun  glows  upon  a  city  filled 
with  people  moving  out  to  their  play  and  toil,  the  new  day  has  come  in  the 
larger  and  deeper  sense. 

No  man  present  at  the  Indianapolis  Convention  could  fail  to  feel  that 
many  hundreds  of  men  had  gained  a  new  relation  to  the  Sun  of  Righteousness. 
This  figure  seems  to  me  to  represent  what  has  happened.  The  Convention  is 
not  represented  by  a  cyclone  or  an  earthquake,  but  by  the  steady  strength 
and  warmth  of  the  sun  that  makes  the  seasons  and  brings  the  harvests. 
Three  things  especially  impressed  me: 

1.  The  spiritual  tone  of  the  speeches  made  by  laymen  was  a  real  feature. 
I  say  "real"  thoughtfully.     There  was  no  parade  of  spiritual  phrases,  but 
there  was  a  sincere  and  penetrating  piety  in  it  all.     In  the  old  days  I  heard 
laymen  whose  spiritual  purpose  in  a  local  sense  was  earnest  indeed.    But  the 
spiritual  note  here  was  broad  and  even  universal.    These  men  seemed  to  love 
not  simply  a  town,  but  a  world  in  their  hearts.     It  is  fair  to  claim  that  the 
laymen  struck  fully  as  spiritual  a  note  as  did  the  preachers.    There  was  a  de- 
mocracy of  responsibility  and  priesthood  that  boded  a  new  day. 

2.  A  second  related  impression  was  that  this  spiritual  mood  on  the  lay 
part  was  not  merely  a  relic  and  reminder  of  "the  good  old  days."    The  vast 
majority  of  men  present  was  made  up  of  comparatively  young  men.    Counting 
the  sections  of  seats  in  the  hall,  one  would  note  that  not  more  than  one  head 
in  eight  was  crowned  with  white.    I  do  not  think  that  the  croaker  would  have 
had  much  chance  at  Indianapolis.     Those  splendid  men,  young  and  middle- 
aged,  were  hopeful  prophecies  of  the  future.    The  Church  has  a  new  day,  and 
she  will  have  new  day  after  new  day,  until  Christ  owns  the  whole  calendar. 

3.  But,  most  of  all,  the  Convention  impressed  me  as  relating  itself  to  the 
wills  of  men.     There  was  emotion,  deep  and  fine.     But  the  mere  hunter  of 
thrills  would  not  have  been  at  home  much  of  the  time.    Everywhere  I  heard 
men  saying,  "Now  we  must  do  the  work.    The  spirit  of  this  wonderful  gather- 
ing must  be  carried  home  with  us!"    Indeed,  often  I  detected  a  holy  fear  lest 
the  power  of  the  Convention  should  somehow  escape.     I  liked  that  holy  fear. 
I  felt  that  the  final  effect  of  the  meeting  was  not  pride  or  emotion,  but  work! 

These  impressions  being  correct,  it  is  not  too  much  to  say  that  the  Indian- 
apolis Convention  was  both  the  token  and  the  helper  of  the  New  Day.  God 
help  us  to  greet  its  dawning  with  gladness  and  consecration! 

EDWIN  H.  HUGHES. 


220 


Actualizing  the  Program. 

No  GREAT  program  can  be  carried  to  successful  issue  in  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church  without  full  co-operation  among 
the  various  agencies  held  responsible  for  its  many-sided  ac- 
tivities. The  connectional  idea,  which  is  the  very  root  of  our 
Methodist  polity,  asks  that  every  great  plan  be  linked  up 
with  existing  means  of  contact  in  the  local  Church.  Such 
a  program  as  that  adopted  at  this  Convention  must  bring 
its  message  to  the  great  membership  of  the  Church  in  terms 
of  the  various  activities  which  are  now  a  part  of  our  Church 
life.  That  this  is  practical  and  that  our  present  leaders  in 
applied'  Christianity  are  in  hearty  sympathy  with  such  an 
effort  is  seen  in  the  methods  presented  in  this  section  of  the 
report,  for  making  the  program  actual  and  vital  in  every  part 
of  the  field.  Of  a  truth  all  this  is  a  sign  of  the  new  day  that 
is  surely  dawning.  Social  reform,  Christian  citizenship, 
evangelism  are  receiving  such  reinterpretation  as  makes  them 
a  part  of  the  normal  life  of  every  human  being,  and  not 
something  thrust  upon  the  individual  from  without.  It  is 
not  a  minister's  task  alone.  That  man  who  characterized 
our  time  as  "the  laymen's  day"  did  but  place  fresh  em- 
phasis upon  the  need  for  thousands  of  our  laymen  to  put 
their  shoulders  under  the  world's  burden.  Indeed,  if  the 
new  program  for  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  is  to  go 
beyond  the  point  of  "vision"  the  hosts  of  Methodist  laymen 
the  country  over  must  very  quickly  learn  that  he  who  pro- 
fesses himself  a  disciple  of  Christ  thereby  takes  upon  him- 
self a  part  of  the  responsibility  of  bringing  the  world  to  the 
foot  of  the  cross.  Men  who  have  prayed  for  opportunity 
for  service,  here  is  the  answer  to  your  prayer! 


221 


I.    A  WORKING  PROGRAM  OUTLINED. 


Message  to  the  Church. 

THE  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  has  birthright  in  two  out- 
standing characteristics  of  present-day  Christian  conscious- 
ness— world  vision  and  world  brotherhood.  John  Wesley's 
words,  "The  world  is  my  parish,"  and  those  other  words  in 
our  history,  "I  desire  a  league  offensive  and  defensive  with 
every  soldier  of  Jesus  Christ, ' '  affirm  the  faith  of  Methodism 
to  have  a  world  vision,  its  hope  to  be  a  universal  hope,  and  its 
love  to  be  an  all-embracing  love. 

This  first  National  Convention  of  Methodist  Men  has  been 
assembled  because  men  of  official  and  commanding  relation- 
ship in  the  Church  specially  need  to  be  aroused  to  larger 
initiative  and  service  for  the  establishment  of  the  Kingdom 
of  God  throughout  the  world.  This  body  of  men,  repre^ 
senting  every  State  of  the  Union  and  practically  every  Con- 
ference of  the  Church,  manifests  the  presence  of  an  awaken- 
ing which  is  a  part  of  the  rising  religious  consciousness  of 
universal  manhood. 

The  responsibility  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  for 
the  evangelization  of  non-Christian  peoples  is  self -defined,  and 
has  been  accepted  as  150,000,000,  among  which  number  of 
such  peoples  the  Church  has  elected  to  serve.  Its  responsi- 
bility for  the  Christianization  of  the  United  States  is  in  like 
proportion  to  the  unchurched  and  unevangelized  in  our  ninety 
millions  of  population.  This  whole  service  must  be  under- 
taken and  forwarded  in  harmony  with  other  existing  Church 
agencies.  "Together"  is  the  watchword  of  the  twentieth 
century.  Unification,  co-operation,  co-ordination  are  the 
recognized  principles  to  secure  economical  and  efficient  service, 

222 


ACTUALIZING  THE  PROGRAM. 

not  only  in  the  sphere  of  secular  business,  but  equally  in  the 
business  of  the  Church. 

To  meet  this  responsibility  adequately  requires  the  quad- 
rupling of  life  and  supply  to  missionary  agencies.  One  per- 
son out  of  every  thousand  of  the  membership  of  the  Church 
would  add  thirty-three  hundred  to  the  missionary  staff,  and 
an  increase  in  missionary  and  benevolent  giving  set  by  the 
General  Conference  of  1908 — "as  much  for  missions  and 
benevolences  as  for  our  local  budgets" — would  afford  ample 
revenue.  This  Convention  repeats  the  challenge  of  "at  least 
as  much  for  others  as  for  ourselves"  as  the  lowest  goal  for 
final  attainment  in  view  of  the  second  great  commandment. 

This  standard  of  giving  is  easily  attainable  if  proper 
apprehension  of  the  stewardship  of  life  and  of  money  can 
become  the  impression  of  the  entire  membership  of  the  Church, 
and  if  Scriptural  methods  can  become  the  regular  means  for 
the  expression  of  their  religious  life. 

The  "New  Financial  Plan" — nothing  other  than  these 
Scriptural  methods — embracing  continued  information  and 
education,  the  acceptance  of  the  principles  of  stewardship  and 
of  systematic  methods  of  proportionate  giving,  and  the  steady 
practice  of  prayer  in  daily  life,  should  be  actualized  in  every 
Methodist  home  and  congregation.  To  secure  this  there  must 
be  carefully  planned  and  cordial  co-ordination  and  correlation 
in  the  methods  and  work  of  the  several  agencies  charged  with 
missionary  and  benevolent  responsibility.  Business  intelli- 
gence demands  and  the  best  interests  of  our  benevolent  work 
require  that  there  shall  be  no  unnecessary  duplication  of 
programs  or  multiplication  of  agencies.  The  direction  of  the 
General  Conference  of  1912  for  the  "unity  and  efficiency  of 
financial  plans,"  and  for  the  protection  of  our  Churches  and 
of  the  official  connectional  benevolences  from  the  confusion 
and  harassment  of  multiplied  financial  appeals,  must  be  car- 
ried out  in  the  spirit  which  prompted  the  legislation. 

The  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  must  ever  show  itself 
the  Church  of  the  people  in  the  spirit  of  Him  whom  "the 

223 


MILITANT  METHODISM. 

common  people  heard  gladly."  The  desire  for  true  Christian 
social  service  is  everywhere  prevalent.  In  the  words  of 
Frederick  Maurice  Denison,  "We  must  socialize  our  Chris- 
tianity and  Christianize  our  social  life."  '  No  civilization  can 
be  permanent  unless  based  upon  religious  principles.  The 
evils  and  wrongs  so  sorely  afflicting  society  must  be  overthrown 
and  remedied  through  an  aroused  public  opinion  that  will 
register  itself  in  righteous  laws  and  just  administration.  The 
Church  must  ally  itself  sympathetically  and  aggressively  with 
all  that  commends  itself  to  its  judgment  and  conscience  as 
essential  to  the  perfection  of  the  Christian  state. 

The  necessary  leadership  of  the  Church  and  the  continued 
maintenance  of  an  intelligent,  active,  and  consecrated  mem- 
bership depends  upon  education,  Christian  literature,  and  the 
training  and  direction  of  young  life.  Our  schools,  colleges, 
and  seminaries  must  be  kept  adequate  to  their  task ;  the  litera- 
ture of  the  Church  must  continue  of  the  highest  quality  and 
be  increasingly  circulated  and  read;  and  all  agencies  for  the 
nurture  of  youth  into  strong  Christian  manhood  and  woman- 
hood must  receive  fullest  sympathy  and  support.  By  its  birth 
and  history  Methodism  is  committed  to  the  broadest  educa- 
tional program,  to  the  largest  mental  development  of  its  peo- 
ple, and  to  sacred  care  of  the  home,  from  the  precincts  of 
which  must  come  the  saving  influences  of  the  Church,  State, 
and  society. 

In  all  the  work  of  the  Church  the  laity  have  equal  respon- 
sibility and  privilege  with  the  ministry.  Particularly  is  the 
demand  upon  "Christian  business  men  to  give  the  same  energy 
and  intelligence  to  the  work  of  the  Church  that  they  now 
give  to  their  own  private  affairs."  When  this  is  done  the 
Kingdom  of  God  will  have  come  upon  the  earth.  The  Gen- 
eral and  District  Superintendents,  Pastors,  and  several  mis- 
sionary and  benevolent  agencies  are  the  natural  and  appointed 
leaders.  They  must  lead  and  the  Church  must  follow. 

No  work  for  God  can  be  done  successfully  unless  under- 
taken in  His  spirit.  Nothing  can  be  so  essential  as  that  the 

224 


ACTUALIZING  THE  PROGRAM. 

Church  go  forward  with  the  courage  that  comes  through 
prayer.  Men  everywhere  must  be  brought  into  its  fold  and 
be  made  to  flame  with  the  evangel  of  His  Word.  This  Con- 
vention commends  the  work  of  the  Commission  on  Evangelism 
to  the  entire  Church.  Methodism  must  maintain  itself  as 
"Christianity  in  earnest."  If  the  note  of  evangelism  be 
hushed ;  if  the  work  of  the  Church  be  attempted  by  mere  or- 
ganization, however  perfect  and  comprehensive ;  if  reliance  be 
placed  upon  societies  and  agencies,  however  numerous  and 
well  equipped;  if  there  be  attempts  to  lay  other  foundation 
than  that  which  is  laid,  the  Church  will  be  powerless  and 
its  work  futile.  "Not  by  might  nor  by  power,  but  by  My 
Spirit,"  saith  the  Lord.  If  the  agencies  and  membership  of 
the  Church  be  transformed  and  transfused  by  His  Spirit, 
and  be  uncompromisingly  loyal  to  Him  who  hath  purchased 
it  with  His  own  precious  blood,  it  will  be  ' '  fair  as  the  moon, 
clear  as  the  sun,  and  terrible  as  an  army  with  banners"  to 
aid  in  the  accomplishment  of  His  divine  purpose  in  the  world. 
In  solemn  consecration  and  in  the  spirit  of  humble  obedi- 
ence, the  representatives  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church, 
in  Convention  assembled,  pledge  this  great  communion  of  the 
Church  of  Christ  to  endeavor  and  achievement  for  Him  in 
whose  name  we  pray,  ' '  Establish  Thou  the  work  of  our  hands 
upon  us,  yea,  the  work  of  our  hands,  establish  Thou  it" 

A  Working  Program. 

The  Convention  of  Methodist  Men,  assembled  at  Indian- 
apolis, Indiana,  commits  itself  and  calls  the  entire  Church: 

First :  To  a  program  of  personal  evangelism  at  home  and 
abroad  which  shall  enable  the  Church  to  reach  effectively  the 
last  man  with  the  message  of  redemption;  and  that  we  set 
as  a  goal  an  annual  minimum  gain  of  ten  per  cent  in  the  full 
membership  of  every  local  Church. 

Second :  To  the  principle  of  social  redemption  in  all  lands 
and  the  application  of  the  spirit  and  teachings  of  Christ  to  the 
total  relations  of  men. 

»  223 


MILITANT  METHODISM. 

Third :  To  the  bringing  of  our  youth  everywhere  into  real 
Christian  life  and  to  their  training  for  effective  Christian 
service  by  all  those  agencies  which  the  Church  has  created 
for  this  high  purpose. 

Fourth:  To  the  practice  of  the  principles  of  stewardship 
by  every  member  of  our  Church  as  defined  by  our  Discipline. 
This  recognizes  God  as  Giver  and  Owner  of  all  things;  man 
as  a  steward,  holding  as  a  sacred  trust  all  he  has;  the  sys- 
tematic application  of  a  portion  of  our  income  to  the  advance- 
ment of  God's  Kingdom,  and  the  dedication  of  one-tenth  of 
our  income  as  a  minimum. 

Fifth :  To  the  universal  introduction  of  the  every-member 
canvass  and  the  weekly  offering  by  every  man,  woman,  and 
child  of  our  Church,  with  these  two  principles  always  in  view : 

(1)  The  standard  apportionments  met  in  full  as  a  mini- 
mum achievement. 

(2)  At  least  as  much  for  others  as  for  ourselves,  as  our 
near  goal. 

Sixth:  To  the  hearty  and  full  support  of  those  Boards 
which  are  created  by  the  Church  as  the  proper  instruments 
for  the  application  of  the  benevolence  of  the  Church  to  the 
world's  need.  And  we  emphasize  the  paramount  claims  of 
those  regular  causes  established  and  approved  by  the  au- 
thority of  the  Church. 

Seventh :  To  the  loyal  and  loving  support  ofr  all  those 
forms  of  Christian  activity,  in  all  lands,  as  expressed  in  our 
educational,  philanthropic,  and  evangelistic  institutions,  look- 
ing everywhere  toward  the  care  of  the  sick,  the  aged,  the 
orphan,  the  unfortunate,  and  toward  the  training  of  our  youth 
in  the  spirit  of  Christ. 

Eighth:  To  an  inspirational  and  educational  campaign, 
having  in  view  our  full  relation  to  the  civic,  industrial,  social, 
educational,  philanthropic,  and  missionary  problems  of  our 
age — and  to  the  enlistment  of  the  unused  energies  of  the  men 
of  the  Church  under  the  leadership  of  the  Son  of  man. 

Ninth:  To  an  emphatic  reaffinnation  of  the  action  of  the 

226 


ACTUALIZING  THE  PROGRAM. 

General  Conference  on  the  subjects  of  higher  Christian  edu- 
cation and  the  imperative  need  of  vastly  larger  funds  for  our 
schools,  colleges,  and  universities ;  the  necessity  of  more  liberal 
support  for  our  ill-paid  ministry,  especially  in  view  of  the 
increased  cost  of  living;  the  supreme  claim  of  the  retired 
veterans  for  an  adequate  support  in  their  old  age;  and  we 
commit  ourselves  with  heartiness  and  devotion  to  the  well- 
known  attitude  of  the  Church  on  the  subjects  of  Temperance, 
Social  Purity,  and  Sabbath  Observance. 

Tenth:  To  the  support  and  circulation  and  the  faithful 
reading  by  ourselves  and  in  our  homes  of  that  Christian  lit- 
erature, in  book  and  periodical,  created  by  our  Church  for 
the  training,  instruction,  and  inspiration  of  our  people. 

Eleventh :  To  a  program  which  shall  bring  to  districts  and 
local  Churches  the  principles,  ideals,  and  methods  which  have 
found  expression  in  this  Convention.  And  we  ask  all  our 
Boards  to  set  aside  their  secretaries  and  other  officers,  as  far 
as  possible  and  necessary,  for  the  service  of  the  districts  and 
area  groups  in  a  unified  campaign  for  all  these  approved 
causes. 

Twelfth:  To  the  utmost  co-operation  of  our  Church  with 
all  other  "Churches  which  exalt  our  Christ"  in  a  common 
and  united  effort  in  all  lands  to  bring  in  Christ's  Kingdom. 

Supplementary. 

In  order  that  the  message  of  this  Convention  may  be  car- 
ried down  to  the  local  Church,  we  make  the  following  specific 
recommendations : 

That  the  arrangements  for  Conference  anniversaries  and 
Conference  visitation  on  account  of  all  the  causes  be  so  ad- 
justed as  to  make  it  possible  for  the  Annual  Conference  to 
set  aside  a  sufficient  time  for  the  full  presentation  of  these 
great  interests  of  the  Church  and  for  a  study  of  practical 
methods,  under  the  institute  plan,  for  the  solution  of  these 
problems. 

227 


MILITANT  METHODISM. 

This  plan  or  some  modification  of  it  would  seem  to  be  es- 
sential if  the  ministry  and  laity  of  the  Church  are  to  be  fully 
informed  concerning  these  most  important  matters. 

The  conviction  has  deepened  in  these  days  that  the  Church 
everywhere  needs  the  vision  that  has  come  to  the  Convention. 
It  would  be  impossible  through  any  printed  word  to  bring 
at  once  the  survey  of  conditions  and  the  inspiration  which 
have  come  from  the  living  voice.  Those  who  have  spoken  to 
us  here  must  speak  to  the  Church.  We  are  convinced  that  a 
like  uplift  of  faith  and  love  would  follow  the  presentation  of 
these  facts  elsewhere  as  in  this  great  Convention. 

So  convinced  are  we  of  this  that  we  urge  upon  the  Boards 
and  agencies  which  have  been  represented  the  necessity  of 
releasing  from  the  ordinary  duties  of  office  those  who  have 
addressed  us,  in  order  that  they  may  have  the  opportunity 
to  reach  with  their  quickening  message  the  Churches  here 
represented. 

As  there  is  need  of  a  practical  plan,  which  must  include 
many  details,  there  should  be  a  central  office  to  which  cor- 
respondence with  reference  to  arrangements  for  follow-up 
meetings  may  be  addressed.  We  recommend  that  the  Com- 
mission on  Finance  and  the  Laymen's  Missionary  Movement 
make  all  necessary  arrangements. 

Convention  the  delegates  should  plan  for  one  or  more  central 
meetings  in  each  Episcopal  area,  and  that  in  consultation  with 
the  central  office  the  dates  of  these  meetings  be  so  arranged 
as  to  make  possible  a  thorough  visitation  of  the  Church  by  the 
speakers  who  may  be  set  aside  for  the  purpose. 

In  order  that  the  laity  may  be  effectually  reached  with 
the  message  of  the  Convention,  we  would  especially  recom- 
mend that  the  Laymen's  Missionary  Movement  be  urgently 
requested  to  arrange  for  such  sectional  and  other  follow-up 
convention  meetings  as  the  demand  of  the  hour  and  the  wis- 
dom of  its  Executive  Committee  may  suggest. 


228 


H.   METHODS  FOR  ACTUALIZING  THE  PRO- 
GRAM. 


The  Laymen's  Missionary  Movement. 
FRANK  A.  HOBNE. 

THE  history  of  the  Laymen's  Missionary  Movement  and  its 
development  in  our  Church  marks  an  evolutionary  process 
that  not  only  has  affected  this  movement,  but  similar  move- 
ments and  enterprises  in  our  sister  denominations.  The  Lay- 
men's Missionary  Movement  of  our  Church  was  organized 
under  the  authority  of  General  Conference  in  1908.  It  then 
had  for  its  objective  the  foreign  missionary  propaganda.  That 
was  likewise  true  of  the  International  Laymen's  Missionary 
Movement.  But  in  1012,  as  the  result  of  the  experience  of  the 
quadrenniura,  by  virtue  of  the  fact  of  the  organization  of  the 
Commtission  on  Finance  federating  all  our  benevolences, 
which  Commission  on  Finance  was  the  result  of  a  memorial 
presented  to  the  General  Conference  by  the  Laymen's  Mis- 
sionary Movement,  acting  in  co-operation  with  other  Boards 
of  our  Church ;  our  borders  have  been  extended  and  we  now 
include  all  the  benevolences  and  activities  recognized  in  our 
denomination.  That  has  likewise  been  true,  by  virtue  as  I 
believe  of  the  providence  of  God,  in  the  interdenominational 
movement,  and  this  year  we  witness  a  united  missionary  cam- 
paign on  the  part  of  Foreign  and  Home  Boards  in  the  United 
States  and  Canada. 

Lest  the  buzzer  interrupts  my  full  speech,  I  want  to  give 
you  the  five  points  of  my  address,  which  constitute  the  policy 
of  our  Laymen's  Missionary  Movement  as  we  address  our- 
selves to  the  outlook  and  the  plan  of  the  Church  in  the  light 
of  the  opportunity  presented: 

229 


MILITANT  METHODISM. 

First,  we  strive  to  stress  and  emphasize  and  promote  lay 
activity,  initiative,  and  service. 

Second,  the  Laymen's  Missionary  Movement  desires  and 
expects  to  heartily  co-operate  with  the  Commission  on  Finance 
in  the  proclamation  and  extension  of  the  new  financial  plan 
in  all  its  aspects  to  every  congregation. 

Third,  the  Laymen's  Missionary  Movement  proposes,  as 
far  as  may  be,  to  carry  the  message  of  this  Convention  to  a 
maximum  number  of  laymen  of  our  Church. 

Fourth,  we  desire  in  every  possible  way  to  promote  unity 
and  efficiency  in  the  various -agencies  and  organizations  of 
our  Church. 

Fifth,  we  propose  to  affiliate  heartily  and  enthusiastically 
with  the  work  and  with  the  program  of  the  Interdenomina- 
tional Laymen's  Missionary  Movement  and  in  the  proposed 
campaign  of  united  forces. 

Now,  first,  with  regard  to  lay  initiative  and  activity,  let 
it  be  said  that  the  laymen  of  our  Church  in  no  sense  desire 
or  look  for  leadership.  The  leadership  of  our  forces  belongs 
to  the  minister.  "We  are  willing  to  follow,  but  we  want  to 
be  led.  We  have  under  God  and  by  reason  of  the  legislation 
of  the  last  General  Conference,  a  form  of  organization  which 
provides,  as  we  believe,  the  very  best  opportunity  for  leader- 
ship. With  the  bishops  over  their  areas  responsible  for  the 
development  of  the  area.  Under  them  the  District  Superin- 
tendents, and  may  I  say  that  it  seems  to  me  and  to  others 
that,  using  a  business  phrase,  it  is  up  to  the  Bishops  to  put 
in  the  type  of  District  Superintendents  that  will  carry  the 
plan  we  have  heard  here  into  effect.  Mr.  John  R.  Mott,  in  a 
recent  meeting  of  a  committee  in  referring  to  his  foreign 
visitation  and  the  wonderful  conferences,  said  that  one  of  the 
convictions  that  had  come  to  him  as  a  result  of  that  visit  was 
that  more  than  ever  there  was  needed  the  activity  of  the  lay- 
men in  bringing  things  to  pass,  both  on  the  foreign  field  and 
here  on  the  home  base. 

The  Laymen's  Missionary  Movement  is  asked  to  go  down 

230 


ACTUALIZING  THE  PROGRAM. 

to  the  local  Church  to  stimulate  the  man  in  the  pew  with 
those  latent  possibilities,  and  we  want  to  co-operate  with  the 
fine  program  of  the  committee  in  their  plans  for  increasing 
their  membership  ten  per  cent  net  each  year.  We  want  to 
work  with  the  idea  of  Church  service  and  we  want  to  work 
with  the  pastor,  but  we  believe  the  time  has  come  for  the 
layman  in  the  pew  to  lift  his  vision  beyond  the  mere  local 
interests  to  the  big  work  of  the  Church  in  the  extension  of 
the  Kingdom  of  God  throughout  all  the  earth. 

The  Laymen's  Missionary  Movement  also  desires  to  im- 
press upon  our  laymen  the  spiritual  side  of  this  business. 
We  desire  to  enforce  and  promote  on  the  part  of  the  laymen 
the  exercise  of  those  fine  qualities  of  business  leadership — 
energy — force,  initiative,  organizing  ability.  We  want  to 
somehow  enlist  these  abilities  for  the  spread  of  the  gospel. 
We  want  big  men  with  a  big  purpose  for  a  big  job. 

Furthermore,  this  program  of  the  Laymen's  Movement 
includes  also  the  adequacy  of  Christian  stewardship  inter- 
preted in  measures  of  sacrifice.  I,  for  one,  believe  that  as  a 
result  of  the  meeting  last  night — I  mean  the  closing  meeting 
of  prayer  and  devotion — the  Spirit  of  the  Lord  is  here  so 
that  laymen  are  ready  here  and  now  to  give  expression  to  the 
spirit  of  Christian  stewardship  sacrificially  expressed.  Why 
should  not  the  laity  be  moved  by  the  Spirit  of  God  ex- 
pressed, as,  for  instance,  in  the  student  volunteers  who  come 
up  and  sacrifice  their  all  and  place  their  lives  upon  the  altar 
of  the  Church. 

We  further  believe  that  as  respects  Secretaries  it  is  not  a 
question  of  quantity  so  much  as  a  question  of  quality.  What 
we  want  with  all  due  respect  to  any  economic  purpose,  is 
men  who  do  things.  We  believe  it  is  impossible  to  adequately 
present,  inaugurate,  and  execute  this  new  financial  plan  with- 
out trained  men  to  lead  and  show  us  the  way.  In  conclusion 
this  job  is  too  big  for  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church.  Let 
us  broaden  our  horizon.  Let  us  work  in  unity  and  full  co- 
operation with  the  Christians  of  all  names  and  all  places. 

231 


MILITANT  METHODISM. 

The  Book  Concern  As  Related  to  the  General  Work 
of  the  Church. 
H.  C.  JENNINGS. 

I  AM  to  speak  of  The  Methodist  Book  Concern  in  its  relation 
to  the  general  work  of  the  Church,  and  concerning  the  way 
in  which  it  may  prove  of  efficient  help  in  carrying  out  the 
present  united  program  of  Church  work  and  Church  life. 

There  is  no  more  question  of  the  providential  organization 
of  the  publishing  interests  of  our  Church  than  there  is  con- 
cerning the  organization  of  the  Church  itself. 

Other  denominations  of  Christians  have  greatly  admired 
our  publishing  plan  and  have  greatly  desired  that  they  might 
have  something  like  it.  It  is  not  too  much  to  say  that  this 
arm  of  usefulness  which  I  represent  has  had  a  value  which 
we  can  not  measure  in  the  propagation  of  the  truths  in  which 
our  Church  believes,  and  in  holding  the  Church  closely  to  its 
task  of  evangelism. 

Only  five  years  later  than  the  organization  of  the  Church 
came  the  organization  of  The  Methodist  Book  Concern,  and 
ihat  institution  has  been  running  now  for  one  hundred  and 
twenty-four  years.  It  is  the  oldest  publishing  house  in  Amer- 
ica. It  has  outlived  all  such  as  were  in  existence  at  its  be- 
ginning. It  has  lived  through  wars  and  panics,  through 
changes  in  polity,  through  the  development  of  the  Church, 
always  the  loyal  steady  servant  of  the  Church.  Its  growth 
has  been  an  indication  of  the  growth  of  the  Church,  and  its 
present  standing  is  secure  because  of  the  present  greatness 
•ol  the  Church  to  which  it  belongs. 

From  John  Dickins,  in  Philadelphia,  one  man  only,  work- 
ing alone,  in  1789,  and  from  Martin  Ruter,  in  Cincinnati, 
one  man  Jnly,  working  alone,  in  1820,  the  two  together  having 
a  salary  bill  of  some  eighteen  hundred  dollars  per  annum, 
its  growth  has  continued  through  the  years  to  the  present 
time,  until  we  now  have  eleven  hundred  people  on  our  pay- 

232 


ACTUALIZING  THE  PROGRAM. 

roll  with  an  annual  salary  account  of  more  than  a  million 
dollars.  It  is  the  story  of  a  business  activity  grown  from  one 
man  with  a  few  tracts  as  his  stock  in  trade  to  all  this  army 
of  employees  and  to  our  many  places  of  business,  working  at 
the  manufacture  and  distribution  of  the  largest  quantity  of 
religious  literature  published  by  any  firm  in  the  world.  We 
are  using  more  than  fifty  thousand  pounds  of  printing  paper 
for  every  working  day  in  the  year,  covering  both  sides  with 
the  best  literature  which  it  is  possible  to  procure  and  to 
produce  for  the  Christian  culture  of  all  the  ages  and  all  the 
classes  to  which  Methodism  owes  its  obligation. 

It  is  of  importance  that  The  Book  Concern  has  as  staple 
a  business,  as  certain  of  increase  as  the  Church  has  of  increase, 
and  that  with  the  application  of  all  improvements  in  the  prac- 
tical machinery  by  which  the  work  is  done,  a  good  profit  show- 
ing is  made,  and  the  profits  go  to  the  care  of  the  needy  among 
us  representing  not  a  great  benevolence  but  a  great  justice. 
In  all,  from  the  beginning  to  the  present  year,  $3,548,000 
has  been  distributed  to  this  cause  from  our  profits,  two-thirds 
of  which  has  been  given  in  the  last  eighteen  years. 

We  speak  of  the  work  of  the  Church  beginning  with  child- 
hood, creating  character,  inspiring  good  citizenship,  and  as 
the  result  of  such  work  proving  to  be  one  of  the  great  saving 
factors  in  the  life  of  the  Nation.  The  Book  Concern  has 
come  to  the  front  in  the  production  of  the  best  material  for 
teachers  and  pupils  in  the  Sunday  school  to  be  found  any- 
where in  the  world.  The  largest  of  all  the  interests  of  the 
Church  to-day  is  the  Sunday  school  interest.  The  soul  of 
education  is  the  education  of  the  soul.  It  is  not  often  con- 
sidered that  the  Book  Concern  has  done  a  great  pioneer  work 
in  this  matter,  that  there  has  never  been  a  periodical  or  a 
lesson  leaf  of  any  kind  issued  that  has  not  been  published 
at  a  considerable  loss  at  the  first,  that  the  deficiencies  on  these 
things  have,  in  the  aggregate,  amounted  to  a  very  large  sum ; 
but  the  spirit  of  those  who  have  been  in  the  management  of 
our  publishing  business  has  always  been  that  anything  that 

233 


MILITANT  METHODISM. 

ought  to  be  done,  should  be  done,  so  from  the  first  leaflet  to 
the  present  magnificent  array  of  periodical  literature,  the  new 
things  embodying  new  ideas  have  been  put  upon  the  market 
and  carried  by  the  House  until  they  could  carry  themselves. 
The  Book  Concern  has  never  failed  to  heartily  co-operate 
in  the  production,  though  at  a  present  loss,  of  everything  that 
will  help  us  better  to  fulfill  the  high  obligations  of  the  Church 
in  this  great  matter,  and  the  Book  Concern  has,  by  its  policy, 
come  into  its  reward,  for  the  Sunday  school  to-day  is  not 
only  the  largest  customer  of  the  Book  Concern,  but  the  most 
profitable  one,  and  that  is  because  we  have  the  best  plan, 
the  best  executed  Sunday  school  system  in  the  world.  The 
Sunday  school  authorities  of  Methodism  have  the  assurance 
that  their  publishing  house  will  not  be  found  wanting  when 
there  is  any  occasion  to  make  an  investment,  though  of  large 
initial  cost,  which  shall  the  better  educate  and  save  the  young 
people  in  our  charge. 

It  is  not  to  be  forgotten  that  the  pioneer  circuit-rider 
carried  in  his  saddle-bags  a  supply  of  the  books  produced  by 
his  own  Book  Concern,  not  only  as  a  matter  of  duty  required 
by  his  Church,  but  in  great  joy  as  an  assistant  in  his  work. 
Largely  by  means  of  this  * '  preacher  agency, ' '  our  books  have 
reached  a  sale  of  many  millions  of  volumes.  With  the  in- 
crease of  intelligence  and  the  spread  of  population,  the  weekly 
Christian  Advocate  family  was  founded — first  on  the  Atlantic 
seaboard,  then  following  the  pioneers  in  their  conquest  of  the 
wilderness,  and  it  has  come  to  pass  that  from  one  ocean  to 
the  other  our  people  find  a  Christian  Advocate  published 
within  easy  reach  of  their  homes,  representing  the  territory 
in  which  they  live,  standing  for  the  highest  and  best  things. 
There  is  such  a  thing  as  the  "Advocate  Habit"  in  Meth- 
odism, Most  of  us  here  to-day  were  born  with  it  and  can 
remember  one  of  the  Advocates  in  our  homes  as  far  back  as 
we  can  remember  anything.  There  is  no  way  of  measuring 
the  influence  of  these  silent  messengers  full  of  hope  and  tid- 
ings and  sound  teachings,  which  are  woven  into  the  fiber  of 

234 


ACTUALIZING  THE  PROGRAM. 

our  early  life.  The  Church  has  during  all  these  years,  through 
the  medium  of  the  Book  Concern,  published  as  many  Advo- 
cates as  it  could  afford  to  publish,  and  there  is  a  goodly 
family.  And  these  Advocates  are  published  now  in  the  Eng- 
lish, German,  Swedish,  Norwegian,  Italian,  and  Bohemian  lan- 
guages in  this  country. 

One  of  the  developments  of  the  present  time  is  the  enor- 
mous mass  of  periodical  literature  which  is  published  in  this 
country.  Most  of  us  can  remember  when  a  half-dozen  monthly 
magazines  completed  the  list,  but  now  monthlies  and  weeklies 
in  extraordinary  number,  running  into  the  hundreds,  are  sent 
broadcast  and  sold  by  millions  each  month.  Most  of  them 
are  of  respectable  and  many  of  them  of  great  merit.  As  men 
are  specializing  more  and  more  in  their  work,  there  is  more 
and  more  demand  for  the  specialized  magazine,  and  our  Meth- 
odist homes  are  full  of  magazines  attractive  and  useful  in 
character,  but  they  have  been  crowding  out  the  Advocates 
that  have  in  other  years  occupied  so  high  a  place  and  almost 
the  only  place  in  the  periodical  reading  of  the  average  family. 
I  do  not  inveigh  against  the  present  order.  I  speak  of  it  as 
a  sign  of  the  times. 

Within  recent  years  there  has  been,  I  am  sorry  to  say,  a 
decrease  in  the  circulation  of  the  Advocate  family  among 
our  own  people,  while  in  the  same  years  the  number  of 
families  in  the  Church  has  very  largely  increased.  However, 
one  of  the  things  which  should  cause  us  great  rejoicing  at 
this  time  is  the  fact  that,  as  the  result  of  much  thinking 
and  much  planning,  a  new  order  of  campaign,  and  for  other 
reasons,  the  tide  has  turned.  As  a  result  of  the  renewed 
effort  during  a  year  in  which  there  has  been  a  large  decline 
of  circulation  in  almost  the  entire  magazine  world,  there  has 
been  the  most  notable  increase  in  the  subscription  list  of  the 
family  of  Advocates  of  any  period  during  their  entire  history. 
Not  quite,  but  nearly  one  hundred  thousand  families  are  each 
reading  a  Methodist  Advocate  that  did  not  do  so  one  year 
ago.  This  makes  about  two  hundred  thousand  circulation 

235 


MILITANT  METHODISM. 

with  one  million  readers.  The  entire  list  of  subscribers  has 
a  little  more  than  doubled  in  that  time.  There  has  been  a 
really  genuine  revival  of  interest  in  the  things  of  our  common 
Methodism,  a  much  wider  and  more  general  inquiry  con- 
cerning matters  in  which  the  entire  Church  is  interested. 
There  is  a  great  inquiry  throughout  the  Church  concerning 
the  methods  by  which  our  theories  may  be  translated  into 
service.  The  Advocates  have  put  out  a  distinct  note  con- 
cerning the  great  thing,  and  more  than  ever  before  we  have 
come  to  value  men  by  what  they  do  for  men  and  not  because 
of  any  amount  of  abstract  talent  they  may  possess.  A  man 
is  rated  as  he  should  be,  not  by  the  money  he  possesses,  but 
by  the  money  and  the  work  he  gives.  Power  is  no  longer 
reckoned  as  belonging  to  the  man  who  can  grasp  the  most  of 
it  and  hold  on,  but  the  great  man  is  he  who  can  do  with- 
out things  and  let  his  neighbor  have  what  belongs  to  him. 
Let  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  take  notice  and  under- 
stand that  her  Advocates  are  not  only  loyal  to  the  truth  of 
revelation  and  to  the  interpretations  of  the  Church,  but  they 
are  the  best  exponents  steadily,  every  week,  all  the  year  round, 
of  the  things  we  want  our  people  to  know  and  to  believe  and 
to  do  for  their  souls'  health.  Presently  we  shall  have  another 
hundred  thousand  families  learning  the  "Advocate  Habit," 
and  then  other  thousands,  and  it  is  safe  to  say  that  there  will 
not  be  very  much  forward  work  among  the  activities  of  the 
Church  where  the  Advocates  will  not  lead  the  way. 

And  this  leads  me  to  say  that  the  Book  Concern,  with 
all  its  facilities  for  putting  truth  on  the  market,  for  pub- 
lishing and  pushing  periodical  literature  of  the  highest  class, 
is,  as  it  should  be,  the  real  mouthpiece  for  every  organization 
and  activity  of  the  Church.  With  hundreds  of  thousands 
of  dollars  invested  in  the  equipment  of  the  best  printing  shops 
in  the  land,  able  to  produce  any  kind  and  grade  of  work, 
equal  in  quality  and  equal  in  speed  to  any  possible  rival, 
such  an  institution  has  the  right  to  expect  to  be  the  printing 
office  of  the  Church  in  every  one  of  its  activities.  Our  single 

236 


ACTUALIZING  THE  PROGRAM. 

relation  to  periodical  literature  is  not  as  large  as  it  should  be; 
it  is  vastly  larger  than  it  was;  but  for  the  Book  Concern 
and  its  facilities  not  to  be  used  by  all  the  benevolent  organi- 
zations and  all  the  educational  organizations  of  the  Church 
as  the  medium  of  carrying  the  tidings  they  wish  to  convey 
to  the  people  presents  a  strange  contradiction. 

My  Book  Concern  creed  is  about  like  this:  It  is  the 
business  of  the  General  Conference  to  see  to  it  that  the  right  ( 
men  are  placed  in  charge  of  all  its  publication  work,  that 
as  they  are  given  responsibility  they  should  be  given  power, 
that  if  they  do  not  measure  up  in  Christian  statesmanship 
to  their  opportunities,  other  men  should  be  substituted  for 
them  at  the  first  opportunity.  We  humbly  believe  that  the 
Book  Concern  is  organized  now  in  about  the  right  fashion, 
and  we  announce  ourselves  as  candidates  for  all  the  printing 
business  and  all  the  exploiting  in  a  mechanical  way  which 
the  Church  needs.  The  Missionary  Boards,  the  Freedmen's 
Aid,  Educational,  and  the  Sunday  school  interests  can  all 
reach  a  larger  constituency  through  the  official  publications 
of  the  Book  Concern  than  they  can  in  any  other  way,  and 
they  can  do  it  vastly  cheaper.  We  are  not  now  pleading  that 
the  Book  Concern  shall  be  in  that  way  helped  to  make  more 
money.  The  emergency  that  is  upon  us  makes  that  a  small 
matter.  It  is  a  question  of  how  we  shall  tell  the  story  soonest, 
best,  and  get  it  to  the  most  people.  I  would  like  to  see  the 
Book  Concern,  the  Missionary  Boards,  and  all  the  other 
official  organizations  of  the  Church  in  a  kind  of  partnership 
which  would  result  in  keeping  our  presses  busy  all  the  time, 
make  the  necessity  for  multiplying  their  number  greater, 
and  even  give  the  Boards  a  share  of  the  profits.  Let  us  do 
something,  anything,  with  all  this  mighty  machinery  which 
shall  bring  us  closer  together  in  the  management  and  execu- 
tion of  the  tasks  to  which  we  are  consecrated. 


237 


MILITANT  METHODISM. 

The  Methodist  Federation  for  Social  Service. 
HARRY  F.  WARD. 

THE  Social  Service  Movement  proposes  that  every  Church 
shall  become  an  effective  missionary  force  in  the  organized 
life  of  its  own  community.  And  the  methods  to  that  end 
are  being  worked  out  not  in  the  study,  but  in  the  field.  Last 
week  I  was  in  three  types  of  communties,  and  in  each  one  a 
Methodist  preacher  was  the  outstanding  community  leader. 
In  the  open  countryside,  in  the  Church  at  the  four  corners, 
through  mud  and  rain  came  the  Farmers'  Club  and  their 
wives,  organized  by  the  Methodist  preacher,  to  consider  how 
they  might  minister  more  effectively  to  the  intellectual  and 
recreational  needs  of  that  countryside.  In  the  village  of  five 
hundred  people  the  leaders  of  every  organization  in  the  vil- 
lage life,  with  all  the  people,  gathered  in  the  Methodist 
church  at  the  call  of  the  recognized  leader  of  their  community, 
the  preacher  of  that  Church,  to  see  how  more  effectively 
they  might  apply  religion  to  the  health  and  morals  in  their 
village.  In  the  industrial  town  of  fifteen  thousand,  at  the 
call  of  the  one  outstanding  community  leader,  the  Methodist 
preacher,  all  the  Churches  and  all  the  organizations  inter- 
ested in  the  community  life  gathered  to  find  how  they  might 
meet  the  dire  illiteracy  and  bitter  vice  and  the  oppressive 
industrial  conditions  of  their  community.  The  work  of  such 
pastors  as  that  is  the  constructive  statesmanship  of  the  King- 
dom of  God.  It  is  more  than  that:  it  is  the  practical  work- 
ing out  of  social  salvation.  It  is  weaving  the  life  of  God  into 
the  very  fabric  of  the  community.  And  that  is  the  last 
expression  of  the  missionary  impulse.  When  it  seemed  that 
we  could  go  no  farther  outward,  then  the  grip  of  God,  taking 
the  wavering  enthusiasm  of  the  halting  line,  drove  it  back 
into  the  very  heart  of  our  civilization.  How  long  will 
the  thin,  heroic  line  of  the  missionary  frontier  hold  their 
posts  if  you  expose  them  to  the  rear  fire  of  an  unregenerate 
Christendom?  Men  of  Methodism,  look  at  a  part  of  your 

238 


ACTUALIZING  THE  PROGRAM. 

job  that  lies  at  your  own  door.  Does  the  absolutely  hideous 
vice  of  pagan  cults  call  for  more  heroic  work  than  the  utter 
bestiality  of  our  own  commercialized  prostitution?  Does 
the  misery  of  the  plague-stricken  East  call  for  better  Chris- 
tian intelligence  than  the  death  rate  of  our  own  communities 
from  preventable  disease?  Does  the  ignorance  of  Africa 
demand  a  better  type  of  leadership  than  the  illiteracy  of 
that  forty  per  cent  of  our  own  industrial  cities  that  never 
finish  the  eighth  grade?  Does  the  misery  of  famine-stricken 
China  and  India  call  for  a  stronger  type  of  Christian 
statesmanship  than  the  rotting  destitution  of  our  submerged 
tenth  and  the  cruel  poverty,  in  the  face  of  rising  stand- 
ards of  life,  of  that  sixty  per  cent  of  the  industrial  popu- 
lation that  does  not  get  a  living  wage?  Does  the  hate  and 
hell  of  threatened  race  antagonism  call  more  powerfully  upon 
the  cohesive  properties  of  the  Christian  religion  than  the 
fires  that  are  boiling  underneath  the  class  antagonisms  of 
our  own  Christian  Nation?  The  last  battle  in  the  conflict 
of  Christianity  and  other  religions,  the  last  battle  in  that 
deeper,  deadlier  conflict  of  Christianity  with  agnosticism 
and  materialism  is  to  be  fought  on  the  field  of  social  efficiency. 
The  social  service  movement  proposes  also  an  evangelism 
which  shall  be  adequate  to  reach  the  industrial  group  in  our 
population.  It  is  not  a  question  of  getting  the  workingman 
to  Church.  It  is  not  a  question  of  establishing  fraternal 
relation  with  the  organizations  qf  labor  and  other  agencies 
for  improving  industrial  conditions.  It  is  a  bigger  task 
than  that.  It  is  the  task  of  spiritualizing  the  mind  and  pro- 
gram of  the  awakening  working  class  of  the  world.  The 
greatest  significant  movement  outside  of  the  organized  Chris- 
tian Church  in  our  modern  life  is  the  coming  to  intellectual 
consciousness  and  political  power  of  the  working  class.  They 
are  being  cemented  into  a  common  mind,  a  common  program, 
the  world  around,  and  the  great  question  for  the  future  of 
our  civilization  is  whether  that  mind  and  that  program  shall 
be  material  or  spiritual.  And  behind  that  working  class 

239 


MILITANT  METHODISM. 

movement  there  is  gathering  the  finest  feeling  and  deepest 
thought  of  our  modern  life.  It  is  the  great  world  move- 
ment toward  industrial  and  social  democracy,  and  at  the  head 
of^it  there  stands  the  Carpenter  who  has  the  form  of  the  Son 
of  God.  The  Church  that  opposes  that  movement  will  be 
trampled  into  dust  heneath  the  tramping  feet  of  marching 
millions,  and  the  Church  that  fails  to  understand  that  move- 
ment will  be  left  forgotten  in  the  rear.  But  the  Church 
that  has  the  intelligence  to  understand,  the  sympathy  to  co- 
operate, and  the  leadership  to  bring  into  spiritual  conscious- 
ness that  great  movement  will  be  the  Church  that  will  realize 
the  Kingdom  of  God  upon  this  earth.  For  our  Methodism 
I  crave  that  place  of  leadership,  a  Methodism  which  has  a 
democratic  theology,  a  Methodism  which  has  a  democratic 
spirit,  a  Methodism  which  has  a  history  of  contact  with  the 
awakening  of  the  working  class  of  England.  It  is  time  for 
us  to  set  apart  in  our  industrial  territories  men  who  are 
particularly  qualified  to  take  the  gospel  to  the  working  class — 
men  who  know  its  history  and  philosophy  and  have  worked 
and  suffered  with  these  men.  That  is  our  particular  job. 
We  want  men  who  can  do  this  work  in  a  new  way.  We  must 
not  be  afraid  that  these  men  will  turn  the  world  upside 
down.  God's  men  have  always  been  doing  that,  for  we  have" 
not  yet  got  it  right  side  up. 

Men  are  coming  out  of  our  seminaries  who  are  going  to 
preach  the  simple  gospel  with  power  as  great  as  ever  it  has 
been  preached.  But  it  is  the  simple  gospel  that  opened  with 
a  proclamation  as  wide  as  the  needs  of  life.  Sometimes  the 
men  in  the  labor  halls  ask  us  what  will  happen  if  that  gospel 
leads  us,  as  it  led  the  Master,  to  the  seats  of  the  money- 
changers in  the  temple.  I  am  not  worrying  about  the  pulpit. 
Men  tell  me  sometimes  that  the  laymen  are  in  advance  of 
the  preachers  on  social  and  industrial  questions.  In  spots, 
perhaps,  but  the  spots  are  not  yet  sufficiently  numerous  to 
constitute  any  alarming  symptom.  If  your  respective  com- 
munities next  Monday  should  find  you  men  practicing  the 

240 


ACTUALIZING  THE  PROGRAM. 

same  kind  of  gospel  that  was  preached  in  your  pulpits  on 
Sunday,  I  think  the  social  service  department  might  take  a 
vacation  for  at  least  a  week.  Some  of  you  men  may  have 
heard  the  phrase,  "full  salvation."  Do  you  want  to  test  it? 
If  you  would  stand  by  your  pastor,  and  thank  God  for  it 
after  he  has  been  the  instrument  of  convicting  you  of  sin 
in  your  social  and  industrial  relations,  then  you  have  got  a 
full  salvation. 

This  social  service  movement  is  creating  new  tides  of 
spiritual  energy  in  the  Church  to-day.  As  of  old,  the  Spirit 
of  God  is  moving  among  the  people,  convicting  men  of  sin. 
As  they  face  the  utter  misery,  the  monstrous  treacheries  of 
our  organized  social  life,  they  look  God  in  the  face  with 
anguish  of  soul,  and  ask  how  they  can  absolve  themselves 
even  of  any  indirect  participation  in  these  sins;  convincing 
men  of  righteousness  as  with  a  new  ethical  sense,  they  are 
striving  to  adjust  themselves  to  their  brother  men  in  all 
relations,  convicting  men  of  the  judgment  to  come  as  if  the 
hour  of  impending  doom  was  at  hand,  as  they  see  our  social 
ills.  If  preachers  and  laymen  will  work  together  with  the 
Master,  each  one  showing  the  redemptive  power  of  the  re- 
deemed life,  then  they  will  help  to  lead  all  their  brother  men 
to  that  great  eternal  city  built  without  hands,  whose  Maker 
and  Huilder  is  the  Eternal  God. 

The  Commission  on  Evangelism. 
J.  O.  RANDALL. 

THE  program  of  the  Commission  on  Evangelism  calls  first  for 
an  increase  in  the  product  of  the  Church  of  at  least  ten  per 
cent.  The  only  subtlety  in  that  call  is  in  the  phrase,  "per 
cent."  If  you  place  on  this  chart  behind  me  three  columns 
of  figures  and  put  after  them  as  the  membership  of  the  Church 
ten  per  cent,  you  will  discover  this,  that  the  figures  in  the  first 
column  will  relate  themselves  to  the  figures  in  the  third  col- 
umn in  different  figures  as  there  are  different  numbers  in  the 
i6  241 


MILITANT  METHODISM. 

first  column.  But  the  center  column  will  not  change.  Ten 
per  cent  increase  in  a  Church  of  twenty  members  is  the  same 
per  cent  as  ten  per  cent  increase  in  a  Church  of  two  thousand 
members,  or  any  other  number  you  may  like.  The  subtlety  of 
that  simply  lies  in  this,  that  the  ten  per  cent  appeals  to 
every  man,  no  matter  what  the  membership  may  be.  The 
man  who  gets  ten  per  cent  increase  in  a  Church  of  twenty- 
five  is  just  as  much  entitled  to  a  place  in  the  front  row  of 
leaders  in  the  Church  as  the  man  who  gets  ten  per  cent  in 
a  Church  of  thirty-five  hundred  members.  This  gives  every 
man  his  chance,  so  that  no  man  needs  to  be  discouraged  be- 
cause of  the  smallness  of  the  charge  he  serves.  The  second 
feature  that  is  attempted  is  that  we  shall  have  a  perfectly 
definite  program.  You  can  not  reach  a  ten  per  cent  in- 
crease— and  you  know  we  have  not  been  reaching  quite  two 
per  cent  of  an  increase — you  can  not  reach  a  ten  per  cent 
increase  without  a  definite  program,  and  a  program  that  will 
not  simply  relate  itself  to  the  mind  and  hope  of  the  pastor, 
but  one  that  will  relate  itself  to  the  Quarterly  Conference  of 
the  local  Church  so  that  every  man  and  woman  in  the  Church 
will  need  to  know  the  number  of  men  on  the  Church  roll, 
and  what  it  really  means  to  increase  ten  per  cent.  This  will 
produce  accuracy  of  aim  and  effort  and  a  deep  and  conse- 
crated devotion  in  prayer  and  service  on  the  part  of  every 
man  who  seriously  wants  to  see  the  Church  of  Jesus  Christ 
triumph  throughout  the  world. 

The  second  thing  in  the  program  is  a  constituency  roll. 
This  is  merely  the  list  of  names  of  men  and  women  and 
children  in  any  local  Church  who  look  to  the  pastor  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church  for  spiritual  ministration.  When 
that  list  is  made  and  men  and  women  know  who  and  where 
the  people  are,  then  we  have  opened  before  us  a  challenge 
to  a  mighty  and  definite  effort  on  our  own  part.  I  say  what 
is  perfectly  familiar  to  many  of  you,  if  you  place  this  list 
of  names  before  your  Quarterly  Conference  you  will  find 
that  there  are  many  men  and  women  in  the  Church  who 

242 


ACTUALIZING  THE  PROGRAM. 

have  been  longing  through  the  years  for  the  opportunity  to 
do  this  particular  thing,  but  did  not  do  it  because  they  did 
not  know  which  man  or  woman  to  speak  to. 

The  next  thing  to  which  I  want  to  call  your  attention  is 
the  matter  of  your  being  entitled  to  know  the  experience  of 
leading  a  man  to  Christ.  There  are  three  million  five  hun- 
dred thousand  Methodists  that  could  not  this  day  do  anything 
that  would  bring  them  such  spiritual  vision,  such  a  holy  thrill 
as  would  come  to  them  by  leading  a  man  to  Christ.  There 
is  no  other  thing,  no  other  blessing  or  multiples  of  blessings 
that  would  put  the  Church  of  Jesus  Christ  in  such  a  state 
of  grace  as  that  every  man  and  woman  in  it  would  lead  an- 
other to  Christ.  Now,  if  you  want  twenty-five  million  dollars, 
there  is  no  better  way  to  get  twenty-five  million  dollars  than 
to  put  the  three  million  five  hundred  thousand  men  and 
women  of  our  Church  out  of  the  Church,  across  our  threshold, 
and  into  the  street,  where  the  unsaved  men  and  women  are, 
with  the  thing  with  wrhich  we  have  been  capitalized  and  en- 
dowed in  our  own  experience. 

The  Epworth  League. 
WILBUR  F.  SHERIDAN. 

IT  was  not  a  prophet  nor  an  apostle  nor  a  priest  who  said, 
"Where  there  is  no  vision  the  people  perish,"  but  the  author 
of  the  business  men's  book  of  proverbs.  We  have  been  re- 
ceiving the  vision  here  during  these  days.  It  remains  now 
for  us  to  carry  it  down  to  the  people  who  are  not  with  us 
upon  the  mount.  The  constituency  that  I  have  the  honor 
of  representing  here  this  morning  of  six  thousand  young 
people  of  the  Epworth  League  are  not  'here.  We  propose  to 
see  to  it  that  they,  too,  shall  catch  the  vision  that  you  have 
seen.  In  the  Greek  Orthodox  Church  on  Easter  morning 
long  before  dawn  the  people  fill  the  great  cathedrals,  and 
the  archpriest  at  the  altar  lights  the  single  taper  and  that 
light  is  communicated  to  the  man  next  to  him  and  so  down 

243 


MILITANT  METHODISM. 

the  aisle  and  out  into  the  streets  and  all  through  the  city, 
where  they  are  waiting  with  their  unlit  tapers,  until  in  a 
few  moments  the  whole  city  blazes  with  the  lights  of  those 
tapers,  all  communicated  from  the  central  altar  fire.  We 
propose  that  these  young  people  of  Methodism  shall  with  their 
as  yet  perhaps  unlit  tapers  catch  the  light  from,  this  Con- 
vention, and  all  through  the  city  and  over  this  land  they 
shall  reproduce  the  light  of  the  devotion  and  the  enthusiasm 
and  the  consecration  that  is  being  manifested  here.  I  am, 
therefore,  this  morning  to  pledge  to  Methodism  the  loyal 
support  in  the  campaign  here  outlined  of  the  young  people 
of  the  Epworth  League  and,  just  as  Mr.  Lincoln  and  his 
Cabinet,  when  they  sent  forth  their  proclamation  for  recruits, 
declared  that  the  Confederacy  must  fall  and  gave  to  the  Na- 
tion the  battle  cry,  "On  to  Richmond,"  so  we  this  day,  re- 
ceiving from  the  leaders  of  our  Church  the  command  that 
this  world  is  to  be  won  for  Jesus  Christ,  will  answer  to  that 
battle  cry  as  the  boys  in  blue,  two  million  six  hundred  and 
seventy-nine  thousand  of  whom  back  there  in  the  sixties  were 
under  twenty-five  years  of  age,  we  will  answer  to  these  leaders 
of  the  Church,  "We  are  coming,  Father  Abraham,  six  hun- 
dred thousand  strong." 

We  propose  to  carry  this  into  effect  by  doing  five  dif- 
ferent things.  First  of  all,  we  propose  that  the  Epworth 
Herald,  the  paper  for  the  youth  of  our  Methodism,  shall 
continue  to  be  the  organ  of  this  world-wide  propaganda. 
Four  times  this  past  year  it  has  given  its  entire  edition  to 
missions,  home  and  foreign,  and  that  kind  of  work  will  be 
kept  up.  In  the  second  place,  one  department  of  the  four 
of  the  Epwrorth  League  of  our  Church  is  devoted  and  shall 
continue  to  be  devoted  to  world  evangelization.  In  the  third 
place,  on  one  Sunday  evening  of  every  month  all  of  the  young 
people  of  Methodism  will  be  set  to  studying  this  program  of 
world  conquest.  It  may  be  it  is  only  a  small  thing  for  a  group 
of  young  people  here  and  there,  inconspicuous  and  obscure,  to 
be  gathered  together  in  the  study  of  these  problems;  there  is 

244 


ACTUALIZING  THE  PROGRAM. 

nothing  spectacular  or  striking  about  it,  but,  as  Burns  declares 
in  "The  Cotter's  Saturday  Night," 

"From  scenes  like  these 
Old  Scotia's  grandeur  springs," 

So  I  believe  it  will  be  from  study  groups  such  as  I  have  de- 
scribed that  the  future  grandeur  of  our  Methodist  Church 
will  spring.  I  promise,  in  the  fourth  place,  that  we  will 
project  lines  of  study  in  the  local  chapters  of  the  Epworth 
League  for  the  study  of  Christian  stewardship  and  foreign 
and  home  missions.  We  have  that  program  on  foot.  Fifth, 
in  our  institutes  we  shall  carry  forward  this  study  of  world 
evangelism.  The  fact  is,  that  what  you  have  been  having  here 
these  two  days  past,  and  what  we  are  in  the  midst  of  now,  is 
only  an  Epworth  League  institute  greatly  enlarged;  it  has 
the  same  ideals  and  convictions,  and  absolutely  the  same 
methods  that  are  being  presented  from  the  manifold  different 
standpoints.  Our  program  is  on  no  narrow  lines.  You  have 
heard  of  the  preacher  who  had  only  two  gestures,  one  up 
and  one  down,  and  he  said,  ' '  When  the  roll  is  called  up  yon- 
der" (pointing  up)  "I'll  be  there"  (pointing  down).  Our 
program  is  particularly  broad.  In  the  coming  Epworth 
League  Convention  at  Buffalo,  New  York,  next  July,  from  the 
1st  to  the  5th,  we  plan  to  have  the  same  type  of  program 
that  you  have  been  carrying  on  here ;  it  will  be  extended,  and 
we  hope  to  have  fifteen  thousand  Epworth  Leaguers  from 
all  over  this  land. 

Our  Brother  in  Black. 
I.  GARI.AND  PENN. 

JOHN  WESLEY  was  a  seer,  a  prophet,  a  statesman.  When  I 
say  that,  I  think  of  the  Scriptural  statement,  "There  was 
a  man  sent  from  God,  whose  name  was  John ' ' — Wesley.  John 
Wesley  uttered  many  things  which  we  have  in  reality  in 
Methodism  to-day,  for  John  Wesley  aa  a  man  of  vision  saw 

245 


MILITANT  METHODISM. 

the  end  from  the  beginning,  and  when  he  said,  "I  desire 
a  league  offensive  and  defensive,"  he  put  the  emphasis  upon 
what  we  stand  for  to-day  in  this  Convention — organization. 
When  he  said,  "We  must  be  at  it,  and  always  at  it,"  he  put 
the  emphasis  upon  business.  So  we  are  here  upon  the  thresh- 
old in  this  program  of  the  greatest  day  in  the  history  of  Meth- 
odism, putting  the  emphasis  upon  what  will  get  results, 
namely,  organization  and  business.  Organization  and  busi- 
ness together  in  this  greatest  business  the  world  knows  any- 
thing about  will  bring  results  greater  than  we  have  ever  had 
before. 

I  understand  I  am  to  speak  this  morning  upon  how 
we  are  going  to  put  this  program  into  the  local  Church.  If 
we  let  this  Convention  soak  in  on  us — and  I  use  the  expres- 
sion of  the  chairman  of  the  morning,  whom  I  heard  say  on 
one  occasion,  addressing  a  colored  Conference,  "Brethren, 
let  this  Conference  soak  in,  like  a  sponge,  that  you  may  be 
like  fountains  giving  out  to  your  local  Churches  when  you  go 
home. ' ' 

Now,  as  to  what  we  are  doing  as  a  part  of  the  Church, 
with  the  inspiration  of  this  program,  let  me  say  that  I  caught 
some  of  the  inspiration  of  the  General  Conference  in  its  legis- 
lation, and  I  went  to  the  colored  people  of  the  South  and  I 
said,  "This  is  the  day  of  getting  larger  results,  the  day  of 
organization."'  And  I  have  been  preaching  that  to  the  colored 
Conferences  of  the  South — organization,  organization,  organi- 
zation. While  we  are  just  upon  the  threshold  of  things,  we 
are  just  beginning,  yet  the  Freedmen's  Aid  Society  in  its  re- 
port this  year  from  the  colored  Conferences  shows  that  the 
colored  people,  organized  as  they  have  never  been  before,  have 
given  this  year  forty-eight  thousand  dollars  for  the  Freed- 
men's Aid  Society,  an  increase  of  fifteen  thousand  dollars  over 
anything  they  had  ever  done  before.  And  we  are  just  begin- 
ning. 

This  program  represents  a  get-together  Methodism,  and 
if  there  is  any  race  who  knows  how  to  get  together  it  is  the 

246 


ACTUALIZING  THE  PROGRAM. 

Anglo-Saxon.  When  Grover  Cleveland  was  nominated  sev- 
eral years  ago  for  the  Presidency,  a  noted  Democrat — the 
"Watch-dog  of  the  Treasury,"  they  called  him — went  through 
the  country  saying,  "Democrats,  get  together."  They  got 
together,  and  Grover  Cleveland  was  elected.  When  we  get 
together  as  this  program  means,  we  are  going  to  give  the 
devil  a  chase  as  never  before  and  bring  in  the  Kingdom  of 
our  Lord  and  Savior. 

The  Methodist  Brotherhood. 

W.  S.  BOVAKD. 

I  HAVE  been  asked  to  state  briefly  how  the  Brotherhood  is 
related  to  this  program  of  the  whole  Church.  I  may  say 
that  it  is  related  to  that  program  as  the  recruiting  and  drill- 
ing force  of  an  army  is  related  to  battlefields,  to  the  great 
challenging  conflicts.  I  am  sure  that  after  these  days  of  look- 
ing out  upon  the  sublime  tasks  that  challenge  the  Church,  we 
must  all  feel  that  there  is  a  great  fundamental  fact,  the  need 
of  more  available  men  for  the  accomplishment  of  these  great 
tasks  upon  which  we  have  been  looking.  The  Methodist 
Brotherhood  is  engaged  in  that  field,  the  development  of  the 
manhood  resources  of  the  Church,  the  furnishing  to  the  leaders 
in  the  local  Church  men  of  power  through  whom  the  purposes 
of  the  Convention  may  be  achieved.  Naturally  enough,  we 
find  the  field  of  our  endeavor  in  the*  local  Church.  And  we 
find  there  that  the  pastor  is  the  key  man.  We  come  to  him 
with  the  methods  of  the  Brotherhood  as  methods  by  which 
we  seek  to  develop  and  organize  and  train  groups  of  men 
who  shall  not  withdraw  from  the  Church  any  energy,  but 
shall  contribute  to  the  Church  the  largest  possible  energy 
that  shall  be  available  for  the  achievement  of  his  purpose. 
These  men  are  to  act  under  the  leadership  of  the  pastor.  We 
have  all  sorts  of  challenging  activities  for  the  development 
of  these  unenlisted  men.  We  recognize  the  fact  that  men  like 
the  fellowship  of  men,  and  they  like  to  be  appealed  to  by  their 

247 


MILITANT  METHODISM. 

fellows  in  man-fashion  with  respect  to  the  claim  of  Jesus 
Christ  upon  their  lives  and  consciences.  So  we  gather  them 
in  social  relations,  not  as  an  end  in  itself,  but  as  an  evan- 
gelistic opportunity,  when  men  that  have  the  life  and  spirit 
of  Jesus  Christ  may  touch  these  other  men  in  a  natural,  un- 
conventional fashion  and  lead  them  to  a  sane,  rich,  Christian 
life.  We  also  recognize  the  fact  that  men  are  appealed  to 
when  religion  is  interpreted  to  them  in  the  terms  of  practical, 
everyday  life.  And  the  methods  of  the  Brotherhood  stand 
for  preserving  a  fine  balance  between  all  these  activities 
which  have  for  their  end  the  development  and  enrichment 
of  personal  life,  such  as  Bible  study  and  prayer  and  worship, 
and  those  other  activities  which  have  for  their  end  the  appli- 
cation of  this  spiritual  power  to  the  problems  of  science  in 
this  new  day.  We  believe  in  applied  Christianity  through 
the  agency  of  thoroughly  spiritualized  men,  and  we  hope  to 
furnish  groups  of  this  sort  of  men  for  the  leadership  in  the 
activities  in  the  local  Church.  It  certainly  stands  to  reason 
that  the  men  connected  with  the  Methodist  Church  could 
not  be  content  to  merely  form  themselves  in  efficient  groups 
for  local  service,  but  they  should  likewise  seek  to  band  them- 
selves into  a  mighty  national  and  world  brotherhood,  so  as 
to  speak  with  the  flexibility  of  the  individual  and  with  the 
multiplied  powers  of  a  great  aggregate  upon  National  ques- 
tions, upon  the  great  world  questions,  and  make  sharp,  quick 
work  of  the  evangelizing  of  the  non-Christian  nations  of  the 
world.  You  have  here  the  phrase,  "get  together," 

"  GET  TOGETHER;  'tis  the  slogan  of  the  hour, 
GET  TOGETHER;  greatly  multiply  your  power; 
GET  TOGETHER;  'tis  the  Master's  clarion  call, 
GET  TOGETHER;  interlock  your  hands,  your  hearts,  your  all. 
GET  TOGETHER;  mighty  tasks  now  call  for  action, 
GET  TOGETHER;  flagrant  faults  still  need  correction, 
GET  TOGETHER  now,  and  fight  to  win  the  world! " 


248 


ACTUALIZING  THE  PROGRAM. 

One  Fixed  Purpose. 
W.  E.  DOUGHTY. 

IP  I  am  correct  in  the  feeling  that  runs  through  my  molten 
heart  at  this  hour,  if  I  have  my  fingers  on  the  heart-beat  of 
this  crowd  of  men,  I  know  how  I  feel,  and  I  think  you  feel 
as  I  do,  for  we  are  all  men  together.  The  biographer  of 
one  of  the  English  queens  said,  "She  lived  in  a  great, 
moment  in  English  history,  but  had  no  greatness  of  character 
with  which  to  meet  its  challenging  periods."  Some  periods 
in  Christian  history  are  like  windowless  rooms,  and  others 
are  like  wide-open  spaces  of  a  kingly  palace.  We  are  living 
to-day  in  the  palace  age  of  the  history  of  the  world.  And 
any  man  who  has  his  finger-tips  on  the  heart-beat  of  the  world 
can  not  but  feel  that  we  are  living  in  the  greatest  age  the  Lord 
God  Almighty  ever  made. 

The  supreme  summons  at  this  hour  is  that  we  shall  have 
a  fitness  of  character  sufficient  to  meet  and  victoriously  con- 
quer this  greatest  age  of  the  world's  history.  I  think  a  tele- 
gram and  its  story  is  about  the  only  kind  of  message  that  is 
brief  and  incisive  enough  to  penetrate  to  the  center  of  our 
hearts  after  such  a  morning  as  we  have  had.  It  is  the 
story  of  the  telegram  sent  by  the  great  Admiral  Togo  two 
days  before  the  battle  of  the  Sea  of  Japan.  He  had  received 
a  command  to  find  and  destroy  the  Russian  fleet;  for  two 
or  three  days  that  great  admiral  was  tossed  about  in  a  great 
tumult  trying  to  understand  how  he  could  find  that  Russian 
fleet,  and  if  he  did  find  it,  how  he  could  destroy  it.  After 
trying  various  plans,  he  finally  laid  out  his  plans  of  cam- 
paign. He  sent  this  wire  to  a  friend  of  his:  "After  a  thou- 
sand different  thoughts,  now  one  fixed  purpose."  There  have 
been  coming  to  us  during  these  great  hours  the  challenging 
call.  There  are  ringing  through  our  ears  these  great  calls 
of  Christ  and  His  Church.  There  have  been  tramping  once 
again  across  the  throbbing  hearts  of  these  men  these  price- 
less millions  who  have  no  chance  to  know  the  living  Christ. 

249 


MILITANT  METHODISM. 

We  have  had  a  thousand  different  challenges  here,  a  thou- 
sand challenging  and  thronging  thoughts  have  come  to  us  in 
this  last  hour  of  this  session.  I  want  to  fling  out  this  cry 
to  this  company  of  Methodist  men,  ' '  Now  one  fixed  purpose. ' ' 
I  think  the  greatest  words  that  were  written  about  David 
Livingstone,  who  opened  a  million  square  miles  of  Africa 
to  the  gospel,  were  the  words  written  about  him  by  a  man 
who  stood  in  the  crowd  and  saw  that  great  surging  multitude 
with  its  face  turned  toward  Westminster  Abbey,  where  Liv- 
ingstone was  to  be  laid  away  with  the  great  men  of  England 
about  him.  That  man  wrote  this : 

"It  was  the  last  mile  of  many  thousand  trod, 

With  failing  strength,  but  never  failing  will. 
That  man  is  now  at  rest  with  God 

Who  never  rested  in  his  fight  with  ill." 

Did  you  get  that  thrilling  verse  and  that  quotation?  "With 
never-failing  will?"  That  is  the  challenge  that  I  bring  to 
the  manhood  of  Methodism  in  this  hour.  No  words  that  I 
have  read  of  Edmund  Burke  have  gripped  my  heart  down 
where  the  rich  red  blood  flows  as  these  words  have,  "The 
nerve  that  never  relaxes,  the  thought  that  never  wanders, 
the  eye  that  never  blanches,  these  are  the  masters  of  destiny. ' ' 
I  am  sure  that  the  men  here  are  seeking  some  invincible 
method  to  apply  these  great  principles  and  methods  that  we 
have  been  listening  to  for  these  days,  a  method  which  is 
not  simply  invincible  in  itself,  but  if  thoroughly  applied  will 
make  invincible  these  other  methods  we  have  been  speak- 
ing about.  There  is  such  an  invincible  method.  It  is  this: 
Prayer  is  the  pivot  of  power  on  which  victory  turns.  The 
story  of  every  Christian  achievement  is  the  history  of  an- 
swered prayer. 

Why  do  I  feel  that  prayer  is  the  pivot  of  power  upon 
which  victory  will  turn,  and  that  the  length  of  reach  and 
power  of  this  Convention  will  be  measured  by  the  depth 
and  purity  of  your  life  of  prayer  and  of  mine?  There 

250 


ACTUALIZING  THE  PROGRAM. 

are  many  reasons.  I  will  come  at  once  to  the  greatest  of 
them  all — because  of  the  attitude  which  my  Lord  took  toward 
prayer.  He  considered  it  more  important  than  healing  or 
teaching.  For  when  the  multitudes  were  surging  about  Him 
for  healing  and  teaching,  Jesus  went  apart  into  a  desert  place 
to  pray.  He  thought  it  of  more  importance  than  preaching, 
for  His  disciples,  when  they  desired  to  know  the  central 
thought  of  the  heart  of  Christ,  said,  "Lord,  teach  us  how  to 
pray. ' '  Jesus  considered  it  of  more  importance  than  miracles, 
for  when  He  might  have  performed  a  miracle  to  save  Peter, 
He  only  said,  "Peter,  I  have  prayed  for  thee  that  thy  faith 
fail  not. ' '  Jesus  Christ  considered  prayer  of  more  importance 
than  any  other  agency  in  getting  men  into  the  work  of  the 
Kingdom,  for  He  said,  "Pray  the  Lord  of  the  harvest  that 
He  send  more  laborers  into  the  harvest.  The  thing  that 
has  impressed  me  most  deeply  in  relation  to  prayer  is  this, 
that  the  only  thing  the  New  Testament  says  Jesus  Christ 
has  been  doing  for  two  thousand  years  is  to  pray.  That  is 
the  only  ministry  to  which  Jesus  Christ  has  given  Himself 
for  two  thousand  years.  And  I  summon  you  in  the  name  of 
the  Master  Himself  to  the  life  of  prayer. 

Ten  years  ago,  when  I  was  a  senior  in  Syracuse  University, 
there  was  laid  on  my  heart  the  burden  of  organizing  a  mis- 
sionary convention  and  trying  to  lift  the  missionary  life  of 
Central  New  York  Conference.  And  out  of  nine  months  of 
spiritual  passion  and  struggle,  I  wrote  down  six  propositions 
and  these  six  propositions  I  have  tried  to  test  during  these 
years  by  this  threefold  test :  First,  the  test  of  the  Scripture ; 
second,  the  test  of  history ;  third,  the  test  of  actual  experience. 
Now,  I  want  here  to  reaffirm  my  confidence  in  these  six 
propositions  about  prayer  and  just  let  the  Lord  God  Himself 
speak  the  matter  in  your  heart.  The  first  one  of  these  propo- 
sitions is  this :  Prayer  opens  doors  and  removes  obstacles  from 
the  ongoing  of  the  Kingdom.  Prayer  is  as  real  a  force  as 
muscular  energy.  It  is  as  vital  as  electricity;  it  is  the  only 
human  power  that  can  take  history  out  of  its  deep-worn  bed 

251 


MILITANT  METHODISM. 

and  lift  it  and  put  it  down  where  it  belongs,  in  the  Kingdom 
of  Christ.  Prayer  is  the  only  human  power  that  is  powerful 
enough,  that  is  gigantic  enough  to  break  open  doors  and  re- 
move obstacles  from  the  ongoing  of  the  Kingdom.  This  is  a 
perfectly  practical  message  to  every  man  here  to-day.  The 
way  to  get  these  doors  open  in  the  home  Church  and  the  way 
to  remedy  those  obstacles  in  the  great  body  of  our  denomina- 
tion is  to  begin  to  apply  God 's  lever  that  has  pried  continents 
and  civilization  apart  from  their  beginning. 

The  second  proposition  I  put  do\vn  was  this:  Prayer  puts 
men  in  the  thin  red  line.  Prayer  flings  workers  out  into  this 
needy  field  here  and  the  needy  field  beyond.  The  only  possible 
way  in  which  we  can  fill  up  the  gaps  in  the  thin  red  line  is 
by  prayer.  I  do  not  know  whether  it  has  dragged  across 
your  heart  like  it  has  mine,  but  when  I  think  of  Latin  America, 
Mexico,  Central  America,  South  America,  Cuba,  Porto  Rico, 
ninety  million  square  miles  with  seventy  millions  of  people 
and  only  one  thousand  four  hundred  and  thirty-two  mission- 
aries in  that  vast  area,  my  heart  swells  writh  pain.  And  when 
I  think  of  Africa,  in  which  this  hour  there  are  seventy  millions 
of  people  who  have  no  written  language  or  even  an  alphabet 
of  their  own,  or  when  I  think  of  Central  Asia — great  Central 
Asia,  beginning  way  up  here — Turkistan,  Mongolia  and 
Manchuria,  Afghanistan  and  Bohkra,  a  city  running  up 
into  hundreds  of  thousands,  with  three  hundred  and  sixty- 
four  mosques  and  not  a  Christian  Church  in  the  whole  city — 
that  great  Central  Asia,  which  is  so  big  you  could  carve  out 
fifty-two  countries  as  big  as  England  or  thirteen  countries  as 
big  as  Germany,  and  in  all  that  throbbing  heart  of  Asia  only 
three  mission  stations.  The  one  method  that  will  fill  up  the 
gaps  in  that  thin  red  line  is  for  the  men  of  the  Church  to 
take  this  great  principle  of  our  Master  to  them,  and  I  chal- 
lenge them  to  do  it. 

The  third  proposition  I  put  down  is  this:  Prayer  is  the 
only  power  that  can  release  sufficient  money  for  the  evan- 
gelization of  the  world.  The  statement  made  by  Mr.  Corey  is 

252 


ACTUALIZING  THE  PROGRAM. 

all  I  need  to-night.  It  was  said  that  no  man  had  ever  given 
as  much  as  a  thousand  pounds  for  any  Christian  Church  in 
Great  Britain  until  Dwight  L.  Moody  with  his  message  of  the 
world  redemption  went  to  Great  Britain. 

The  fourth  proposition  is  this:  That  prayer  is  the  only 
thing  that  adequately  qualifies  men  for  leadership  in  the 
world's  evangelization.  I  think  again  of  David  Livingstone, 
about  how  he  wrote  in  his  diary  at  Christmas  time  this 
sentence,  that  is  like  a  sword  in  every  man's  heart  who  reads 
it;  he  said  on  that  Christmas  time,  "I  have  this  morning 
pulled  up  my  belt  two  holes  to  stop  the  pangs  of  hunger." 
And  then  David  Livingstone,  a  little  while  later,  wrote  in  his 
diary,  "My  Jesus,  my  King,  my  Life,  my  All,  T  again  dedi- 
cate my  whole  self  to  Thee."  That  is  the  kind  of  leadership 
we  must  have  for  Methodism  if  Methodism  is  to  conquer  the 
planet. 

The  next  proposition  I  put  down  was  this:  Prayer  will 
meet  hours  of  crisis  victoriously.  We  are  facing  in  this  Con- 
vention this  hour  a  supreme  crisis,  and  that  crisis  will  be  met 
victoriously  if  the  men  on  this  floor  will  begin  now  with  a 
new  passionate  devotion  to  be  men  of  prayer. 

The  last  proposition  I  put  down  was  this:  Prayer  is  the 
only  force  that  can  make  possible  the  presentation  of  the 
Christian  message  with  compelling  power.  What  we  need  now 
is  something  that  can  quicken  information  into  inspiration, 
that  can  transmit  interest  into  passion,  and  that  can  coin 
enthusiasm  into  dollars  and  lives.  That  is  what  we  need  now. 
After  a  thousand  thronging  and  challenging  thoughts,  we 
need  to  make  one  fixed  purpose  to  put  this  program  through 
with  prayer.  It  can  not  be  put  through  in  any  other  way. 

All  these  six  propositions  were  summed  up  in  the  most 
marvelous  way  in  the  Chattanooga  Convention  of  the  South- 
ern Presbyterian  Church,  where  it  was  my  privilege  to  speak. 
Out  in  Africa  there  was  a  crisis :  they  needed  more  men  and 
money.  A  little  group  of  those  African  preachers  and  native 
Christians  got  together  for  prayer,  and  they  sent  a  sum- 

253 


MILITANT  METHODISM. 

mons  through  all  the  Presbyterian  Congo,  and  some  of  the 
native  preachers  walked  six  hundred  miles  to  get  to  that 
prayer-meeting.  They  set  aside  a  whole  day  for  prayer. 
After  they  prayed  that  day,  some  of  the  native  Christians 
were  not  satisfied  and,  without  eating  or  drinking,  some  of 
them  prayed  for  two  days  and  two  nights  that  the  Southern 
Presbyterian  Church  might  be  split  open  from  center  to  cir- 
cumference with  a  mighty  passion;  and  then  one  of  those 
missionaries  came  home  and  went  around  to  the  seminaries 
and  the  colleges  to  talk  about  this,  and  they  planned  for  the 
great  convention,  and  some  one  who  was  interested  in  the  plan- 
ning said,  "Would  it  not  be  great  if  we  could  bring  up  to 
this  convention  the  men  and  women  who  want  to  go,  and  chal- 
lenge the  business  men  to  send  them  out  ?  "  At  the  summons 
of  the  leader  of  the  meeting  of  the  last  night  they  flocked  up 
to  the  platform  until  there  were  ranged  in  front  of  the  plat- 
form twenty-nine  young  men  and  women  who  said  they  would 
go  to  Africa  if  God  would  send  them  out.  After  a  few  min- 
utes of  prayer,  there  was  nothing  to  do  but  to  challenge  the 
laymen  to  furnish  the  sinews  of  war,  and  they  laid  down 
thirty-nine  thousand  dollars,  and  that  was  increased  to  fifty- 
six  thousand  dollars  the  next  day,  to  send  out  that  company 
of  young  people.  One  incident  more,  which  I  think  will  sum- 
marize all  I  had  planned  to  say  this  morning.  It  is  a  story 
illustrating  the  devotion  of  a  Hindu  mother.  I  have  had  two 
experiences  in  telling  this  story;  one  was  out  at  Oklahoma 
City,  with  Dr.  Trimble,  at  a  Union  Convention  of  the  North- 
ern and  Southern  Methodists,  with  Bishop  Hendrix  in  the 
chair.  The  next  morning,  Bishop  Hendrix,  in  the  open  con- 
vention before  he  announced  the  hymn,  said  to  that  great  audi- 
ence :  ' '  The  thing  that  hurt  me  most  yesterday  was  the  story 
of  the  Hindu  mother  and  her  two  little  children.  I  awoke  this 
morning  with  a  sob,  thinking  about  the  millions  of  little  chil- 
dren who  do  not  know  that  the  Father's  face  is  turned  towards 
them."  I  went  straight  home,  arriving  there  late  at  night.  I 
always  like  to  sleep  next  to  the  wrhite  bed  where  my  little  boy 

254 


ACTUALIZING  THE  PROGRAM. 

sleeps.  That  night  he  got  a  little  cold  and  in  the  middle  of  the 
night  he  reached  out  his  chubby  hand  and  said,  "Papa,  hold 
baby's  hand. "  I  can  remember  the  thrill  of  it  as  I  reached  my 
hand  out  through  the  bars  of  the  bed  and  took  firm  hold  of 
that  little  chubby  hand.  Then  he  put  his  other  hand  through 
the  bars  and  said,  "Papa,  hold  both  baby's  hands."  Then  I 
did  not  go  to  sleep.  There  broke  against  my  heart  like  the  sob 
of  an  ocean  tide  the  cry  of  the  millions  of  this  earth  who 
do  not  know  that  their  Father's  face  is  turned  towards  them 
like  my  face  was  turned  towards  that  little  lad.  This  is  the 
story :  One  morning  a  Hindu  mother  went  out  to  the  banks 
of  the  Ganges,  leading  in  either  hand  her  two  children.  A 
missionary  saw  her  going  to  the  banks  of  the  river,  and  he 
knew  what  she  was  going  there  for.  He  looked  into  her  eyes 
with  all  the  pleading  of  fatherhood  and  tried  to  persuade  her 
not  to  do  it,  not  to  give  one  of  these  little  children.  Then  he 
looked  at  the  faces  of  the  two  children;  one  of  the  children 
was  as  perfect  a  baby  as  any  mother  ever  held  close  to  her 
heart  in  America  or  any  where ;  the  other  was  blind  and  lame 
and  crippled.  The  missionary  went  away  to  his  work  be- 
cause he  could  not  persuade  that  woman  to  break  from  the 
thought  of  centuries  in  a  single  hour's  pleading.  He  came 
back  to  that  spot,  and  saw  the  Hindu  mother  standing  still  by 
the  river  bank  with  breaking  heart.  One  child  was  missing. 
As  the  missionary  drew  near,  he  discovered  that  the  perfect 
child  was  gone;  the  mother  had  kept  the  little  blind  and' lame 
one  for  herself.  As  he  looked  into  the  eyes  of  that  mother,  he 
said  to  her,  "Woman,  if  you  had  to  give  one,  why  didn't  you 
give  this  little  lame  and  blind  one,  and  keep  the  perfect  one 
for  yourself?"  She  said,  "0  sir,  I  do  not  know  what  kind  of 
God  you  have  in  America,  but  I  know  that  out  here  in  India 
our  god  expects  us  to  give  him  our  very  best." 

"I  heard  Him  call,  *Go  Forward,'  that  was  all, 
My  gold  grew  dim,  my  heart  went  after  Him, 
I  rose  and  followt*],  that  was  all; 
Who  would  not  follow  if  he  heard  Him  call  ?" 

255 


III.  THE  NEW  DAY  AND  THE  PROGRAM. 


The  New  Day  in  Social  Reform. 

HERBERT  WELCH. 

SOCIAL  reform  is  not  a  new  undertaking,  nor  is  it  new  in  its 
relation  to  religion.  The  Old  Testament,  prophets,  who  per- 
haps even  better  than  its  lawgivers  voiced  the  highest  aspira- 
tions of  Israel,  pictured  a  divine  order  for  human  society.  A 
careful  student  has  summed  up  their  teachings  under  three 
heads:  First,  they  taught  the  existence  of  a  righteous  God, 
who  demanded  righteousness  and  could  be  satisfied  with  noth- 
ing less  thar  righteousness.  No  amount  of  sacrifice  and  cere- 
mony would  take  the  place  of  conduct  with  him.  Put  away 
your  sacrifices.  I  want  none  of  them.  Wash  you,  make  you 
clean;  cease  to  do  evil;  learn  to  do  well.  Then  come,  and  let 
us  reason  together.  These  prophets,  as  one  has  put  it,  turned 
the  hydraulic  power  of  religion  from  ceremonial  worship  to 
daily  conduct.  In  the  second  place,  they  dealt  not  merely  with 
what  we  have  called  private  morality,  but  with  all  the  social 
and  political  problems  of  their  day.  And  in  the  third  place, 
they  showed  that  their  sympathies  were  forever  with  the  poor. 
Without  ignoring  the  faults  of  the  poor  or  the  virtues  of  the 
rich,  the  natural  flow  of  the  prophetic  sympathy  was  toward 
those  who  were  helpless  and  especially  needed  a  champion. 
John  the  Baptist  was  the  natural  culmination  of  this  line  of 
prophecy.  Speaking  to  tax-gatherers  and  to  soldiers  and  to 
men  of  other  callings,  his  prime  demand  was  that  they  should 
forsake  their  evil  ways.  And  when  Jesus  came,  He  began 
where  John  the  Baptist  left  off.  "The  Kingdom  of  God  is 
at  hand,"  the  Kingdom  which  has  to  do  with  human  relation- 

256 


ACTUALIZING  THE  PROGRAM. 

ships,  not  simply  with  man's  relationship  to  His  Heavenly 
Father. 

But  it  happened  after  a  time  that  the  Church  lost  its 
social  ideal.  If  it  did  not  surrender  to  the  world,  it  at  least 
surrendered  the  world  to  itself;  its  statesmen  became  ecclesi- 
astics, its  saints  became  monks;  instead  of  conquering  the 
world,  they  ran  away  from  the  world.  Then  came  the  Refor- 
mation, with  its  new  assertion  of  man's  individual  responsi- 
bility to  God ;  and  after  that  came  John  Wesley,  carrying  the 
old  gospel  into  a  new  development,  putting  side  by  side  with 
evangelism  education  and  social  service,  ministry  to  all  sorts 
and  conditions  and  needs  of  men.  The  General  Rules  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church  as  John  Wesley  framed  them 
long  ago  presented  a  broad  conception  of  Christianity.  One 
of  their  three  divisions  relates  to  the  personal  religious  life, 
the  life  of  prayer  and  common  worship.  One  of  them  relates 
to  things  that  people  who  belong  to  a  righteous  God  must 
not  do,  and  one  of  them  relates  to  things  that  people  who 
belong  to  Jesus  Christ  must  do.  There  is  the  devotional 
and  the  negative  and  the  positive,  all  set  forth  in  remark- 
able combination  in  the  General  Rules.  Wesleyanism  had 
very  much  to  do  with  the  social  movements  of  the  last  century. 
There  were  stirrings  in  England  and  America.  Seventy-five  f 
years  ago  Emerson  wrote  to  Carlyle,  "We  are  all  a  little  wild 
here  with  our  schemes  for  making  the  world  over;  every 
reading  man  has  a  plan  for  the  new  community  in  his  vest- 
pocket."  But  it  was  not  until  the  last  twenty-five  years  that 
we  have  seen  the  social  movement  as  we  know  it  under  full 
headway.  There  is  a  new  literature,  a  new  philosophy; 
there  is  a  new  social  conscience,  a  revival  of  political  morality, 
the  raising  of  the  standards  of  business  ethics.  Truly  there 
is  a  new  day  in  social  reform. 

May  I  very  briefly  indicate  three  of  the  marks  of  this  new 

age?     First,    it   implies   a   deeper  understanding  of   social 

service.    The  natural  impulse  upon  seeing  somebody  in  trouble 

is  to  give  him  relief.     Then  comes  the  second  thought,  How 

"  257 


MILITANT  METHODISM. 

shall  we  prevent  the  recurrence  of  this  disaster?  Then  comes 
the  third  stage,  What  are  the  underlying  causes  of  this  dis- 
tressful condition?  First  aid  to  the  injured  gives  place  to 
careful  diagnosis  and  to  modern  therapeutics.  Take,  for  in- 
stance, our  treatment  of  the  problem  of  drunkenness.  The 
first  temperance  movement  aimed  to  help  the  man  who  was 
drunk.  Next,  we  looked  behind  the  individual  drunkard  to 
the  institution  that  made  him  a  drunkard,  and  we  wondered, 
"Why  spend  our  time  in  mopping  up  the  flood  while  the  tap 
is  still  flowing?"  And  we  began  the  legislative  movement 
for  closing  the  saloon.  But  there  was  another  step  to  which 
we  have  had  to  come.  We  have  had  to  ask  ourselves,  What 
are  the  causes  of  the  saloon  itself?  What  are  the  family 
causes  ?  What  are  the  social  and  the  financial  reasons  that  lie 
behind  this  deep-seated  and  strong  institution  of  evil?  And 
we  have  begun  to  see  that  good  cooking  may  have  something  to 
do  with  solving  the  temperance  problem ;  that  the  creation  of 
a  happy  and  wholesome  home  may  have  much  to  do  with 
it;  that  inadequate  wages  and  exhausting  toil  and  financial 
trickery  and  the  social  impulse  all  lie  behind  this  great  in- 
stitution against  which  we  have  declared  war  to  the  limit. 
So  with  the  problem  of  pauperism.  We  are  no  longer  sat- 
isfied to  give  a  dime  to  a  beggar  on  the  street,  or  shut  him 
up  in  jail,  or  put  him  in  the  work-yard  to  prevent  his  beg- 
ging. We  have  gone  back  to  his  history  and  asked  what 
made  this  man  a  pauper,  what  in  his  ancestry,  what  in 
his  physical  defects,  what  in  his  lack  of  education,  what 
in  evil  environment,  what  in  sickness?  We  are  not  seek- 
ing any  longer  to  treat  symptoms,  but  to  treat  the  disease. 
So  with  the  problem  of  vice,  so  with  the  problem  of  in- 
sanity, so  with  the  problem  of  blindness,  and  a  thousand 
more.  In  a  word,  the  day  when  charity  was  enough  has 
passed.  Men  are  beginning  to  ask  for  justice  instead  of 
charity.  The  day  when  the  Institutional  Church  could  meet 
the  problem  of  the  slum  district  is  over.  Men  demand  some- 
thing that  goes  deeper  than  Institutional  Church  ministries 

258 


ACTUALIZING  THE  PROGRAM. 

or  social  settlements.  The  day  when  welfare  work  guaran- 
teed industrial  peace  is  passing  away,  for  many  men  are 
saying,  "If  we  had  the  wages  that  are  due  to  us  as  our  share 
of  the  profit  of  this  industry,  we  would  not  need  this  welfare 
work."  There  is  a  deeper,  more  searching  meaning  to  social 
service  in  this  new  day  than  in  the  generation  that  has  passed 
on.  Once  more  "the  ax  is  laid  to  the  root  of  the  trees." 

In  the  second  place,  there  is  a  deeper  meaning  to  personal 
righteousness.  It  needs  to  be  continually  repeated,  lest  it 
he  forgotten,  that  there  can  be  no  possibility  of  any  conflict 
between  evangelism  and  social  service.  Evangelism  claims 
the  loyalty  of  every  last  individual  to  Jesus  Christ;  social 
service  proposes  to  put  that  loyalty  into  active  operation  in 
all  of  life's  relationships.  They  are  only  two  parts  of  one 
continuous  process.  Nothing  can  take  the  place  of  evan- 
gelism. There  will  never  be  a  Christian  State  that  is  not  made 
up  of  Christian  citizens.  There  will  never  be  a  Christian 
social  order  except  as  Christian  men  bring  it  about.  Nothing 
can  take  the  place  of  individual  responsibility  to  God,  the 
cleansing  of  the  heart  of  man  by  the  power  and  the  grace 
of  God.  As  one  has  put  it  in  homely  phrase,  "You  will 
never  get  an  honest  horse-race  until  you  have  an  honest  human 
race."  But  we  must  not  stop  with  the  regeneration  of  the 
individual.  No  man  is  truly  righteous  except  as  he  is  right- 
eous in  his  relationships.  There  are  such  things  as  pure 
mathematics  and  applied  mathematics ;  pure  mathematics  deals 
with  abstractions,  and  applied  mathematics  deals  with  con- 
crete facts.  But  in  religion  there  is  no  such  distinction ;  there 
is  no  Christianity  but  applied  Christianity.  We  must  rec- 
ognize the  old  sins  in  their  modern  clothes.  It  has  been 
strikingly  put  that  "l>oodling  is  the  new  treason,  black- 
mail the  new  piracy,  embezzlement  the  new  highway  robbery, 
tax-dodging  the  new  larceny,  child  labor  the  new  slavery, 
adulteration  of  foods  the  new  murder;"  but  these  old  crimes 
baptized  with  more  respectable  names  are  just  as  devilish 
as  in  the  ruder  days.  We  must  readjust  our  standards  of 

259 


MILITANT  METHODISM. 

judgment.  If  Jesus  Christ  knew  anything  about  the  heart 
cf  man  and  the  comparative  values  of  various  virtues,  then 
the  sin  of  the  elder  brother  was  more  subtle  and  deadly  than 
the  sin  of  the  prodigal ;  the  sin  of  the  Pharisee — the  man  who 
made  long  prayers  and  devoured  widows'  houses  by  excessive 
rents  and  cruel  foreclosures — the  Pharisee  in  his  sin  was 
more  hopeless  than  the  harlot  in  hers.  It  was  more  urgent 
in  the  view  of  Jesus  that  a  man  should  establish  friendly 
relations  with  his  brother  than  that  he  should  offer  a  holy 
sacrifice  to  God.  "Leave  thy  gift  before  the  altar,"  said  the 
Master,  "and  go."  Even  benevolence  is  secondary  to  right- 
eousness. There  is  a  very  strong  emphasis  in  this  Convention 
on  the  financial  side  of  our  obligation  to  God;  and  that  is 
certainly  well.  It  may  very  likely  be  true  that  the  most 
far-reaching  action  of  the  last  General  Conference  was  the 
creation  of  the  Finance  Commission,  with  all  that  that  means 
to  the  future  of  the  Church;  and  yet  our  chief  business  in 
this  Convention  is  not  financial,  but  spiritual.  Our  biggest 
task  is  not  to  give  our  dollars,  but  our  days.  We  want  money, 
we  want  more  money,  but  we  want  more  holy  money,  money 
sanctified  by  toil  as  well  as  by  prayer.  Thank  God  for 
the  men  who  can  give  their  dollars  and  their  tens  of  thou- 
sands of  dollars  that  have  come  to  them  as  a  result  of  honest 
work  in  the  world's  service;  but  do  not  forget  the  heroism 
of  some  unknown  man  who  might  have  had  his  tens  of  thou- 
sands if  he  had  chosen,  but  for  the  dear  sake  of  Jesus  Christ 
and  his  brethren,  has  consented  to  be  a  poorer  man  that 
he  might  be  a  better  man.  That  is  heroism  of  just  as  fine  a 
type  as  that  of  the  great,  generous  giver  to  our  benevolent 
causes.  I  appreciate  the  complexity  of  these  problems,  which 
make  men  ask,  "What  is  right  in  business?"  I  appreciate  the 
helpless  feeling  that  sweeps  over  good  men  in  the  face  of 
these  collective  evils.  Yet  somehow  the  sins  of  the  community 
involve  us;  and  somehow  we  must  take  upon  us  their  shame 
and  their  burden.  Think  of  the  boys  who  are  going  into 
gambling  and  thievery  when  an  athletic  field  would  keep  them 

260 


ACTUALIZING  THE  PROGRAM. 

decent;  think  of  the  girls  who  resort  to  low  dance-halls  and 
dives  when  a  playground  or  a  wholesome  club  would  keep 
them  sweet  and  unstained !  Think  of  Chicago,  which  is  eat- 
ing up  five  thousand  young  girls  a  year  in  the  jaws  of  its 
lust,  and  spending  fifteen  million  dollars  annually  to  gratify 
that  passion.  Think  of  special  privilege  still  exploiting  the 
poor.  Think  of  fifty  thousand  deaths  and  two  million  in- 
juries every  twelve  months  in  industrial  accidents.  Think 
of  the  ninety  thousand  men  in  the  iron  and  steel  trades,  a 
quarter  of  them  working  twelve  hours  a  day,  seven  days  in 
every  week,  and  half  of  them  receiving  less  than  eighteen 
cents  an  hour.  Think  of  the  six  million  working  women  in 
this  country  with  wages  averaging  six  dollars  per  week,  and 
some  of  them  on  two  or  three  dollars  a  week,  when  nine 
dollars  is  necessary  for  a  life  in  decency.  Then,  facing  these 
facts,  let  us  ask  the  duty  of  those  who  love  righteousness  and 
hate  iniquity. 

The  third  mark  of  the  new  day  is  a  new  alignment  of  the 
forces.  The  Church  has  never  been  wholly  separated  from 
the  forward  movement,  but  now  again  more  definitely  and 
positively  it  is  identified  with  all  that  makes  for  social  better- 
ment. It  is  recognizing  that  its  mission  is  as  comprehensive 
as  that  of  Jesus  Christ  Himself — to  destroy  the  works  of  the 
devil.  It  sees  that  the  Kingdom  of  righteousness  can  not 
prevail  if  wages  are  unrighteous ;  nor  joy  when  so  many  little 
children  are  unhappy;  nor  peace  while  conflicts  between 
classes  and  nations  still  rage.  To  this  disordered  world  the 
Church  owes  not  simply  a  gospel  of  personal  forgiveness  and 
divine  assurance  of  eternal  life,  but  a  gospel  for  all  ills;  not 
a  fragmentary  gospel,  but  a  whole  gospel  for  the  whole  man 
through  the  whole  world.  This  need  the  Church  is  frankly 
facing.  By  the  socialization  of  its  activities,  by  special  organ- 
izations within  itself,  by  a  declaration  of  social  rights  which 
constitutes  the  noblest  creed  of  modern  times,  the  Church  is 
taking  its  rightful  place  of  inspiration  and  transformation. 
And  in  this  movement  the  Methodist  Church — its  very  nature 

261 


MILITANT  METHODISM. 

favorable  to  democracy,  its  emphasis  never  on  doctrines  or 
forms  so  much  as  on  experience  fruiting  in  life — is  fitted  to 
bear  a  leading  part.  It  has  a  unique  opportunity  to  prove 
worthy  of  its  great  traditions  and  rally  to  the  call  of  this  new 
crusade.  Its  bishops  have  summoned,  its  General  Conferences 
have  spoken,  its  leaders  have  appeared.  Now,  by  wise  and 
bold  action  of  its  preachers  and  its  laymen,  by  declaration  of 
its  sympathy  with  all  the  oppressed  and  the  unprivileged,  by 
intelligent  survey  of  its  fields  and  their  needs,  by  co-opera- 
tion with  all  social  and  political  agencies  for  social  uplift, 
by  an  inclusive  conception  of  the  scope  of  religion,  it  may 
give  the  leadership  in  social  reform,  which  it  gave  long  ago 
in  evangelism  and  which  is  due  from  the  largest  Protestant 
body  in  our  land. 

The  New  Day  for  Christian  Citizenship. 
IRA  E.  ROBINSON. 

TIME  by  eternal  steps  has  brought  us  to  a  period  of  learning, 
invention,  government,  and  all  that  pertains  to  human  hap- 
piness never  before  known.  But  with  that  period  has  come 
to  all  those  who  live  and  act  in  the  present  greater  duties 
and  responsibilities  than  were  presented  by  the  more  limited 
growth  of  preceding  times.  Entirely  different  from  the  work 
which  confronted  our  fathers  is  that  before  us.  Theirs  the 
working  out  of  good,  ours  the  same,  but  with  clearer  con- 
ception, in  a  wider  sphere,  and  in  a  greater  way.  Do  we  not 
conceive  in  this  new  day,  with  its  wonderful  achievements, 
its  manifold  material  blessings,  and  its  open  avenues  for  at- 
tainment, the  growth  of  His  eternal  plan  and  the  part  He 
has  allotted  to  us  in  the  bringing  of  it  to  pass  ? 

Our  great  American  Government  was  born  of  devotion  to 
principles  of  innate  justice.  It  came  out  of  untold  sacri- 
fices for  right.  It  was  founded  for  the  advancement  of  God's 
own  law.  Government,  properly  understood,  is  but  an  instru- 
mentality for  God.  It  is  a  great  conception  for  the  pronio- 

262 


ACTUALIZING  THE  PROGRAM. 

tion  of  His  way  with  His  people.  If,  in  government,  we  de- 
part from  the  law  of  righteousness  and  love,  we  thwart  the 
true  purpose  of  government.  Government  may  be  considered 
as  rule  through  law,  yet  there  is  no  true  law  but  that  founded 
on  the  simple  precepts  of  divine  justice,  that  we  should  live 
honestly,  should  injure  no  one,  and  should  render  to  every 
one  his  due.  Blackstone  tells  us  that  these  precepts  are  the 
Creator's  own  mandates  and  that  they  are  the  foundation 
of  all  law.  They  are  equally  binding  on  the  citizen,  the  ruler, 
the  State.  In  the  Decalogue  these  simple  principles  were  first 
codified  for  man.  They  have  ever  since  formed  the  basis  of 
society.  They  were  reiterated  by  Micah  of  old :  ' '  What  doth 
the  Lord  require  of  thee  but  to  do  justly,  and  to  love  mercy, 
and  to  walk  humbly  with  Thy  God?"  They  were  taught, 
amplified,  and  exemplified  by  the  Master  Himself.  American 
liberty,  rightly  conceived,  is  but  the  liberty  of  righteous- 
ness and  love.  It  is  the  liberty  that  grows  out  of  a  proper 
conception  of  the  brotherhood  of  man.  It  is  indeed  the 
nationalizing  of  the  gospel  of  Christ.  Nations  as  a  whole, 
as  well  as  individuals,  need  and  must  recognize  the  Master's 
creed.  The  State  that  does  not  rest  on  the  spiritual  strength 
of  its  people  has  an  insecure  foundation.  The  State  which 
has  not  a  people  imbued  with  a  faith  to  live  and  achieve 
on  a  high  spiritual  plane  will  not  make  history. 

The  brotherhood  that  Christ  ordained,  so  long  resting  in 
individual  lives,  in  this  day  is  presenting  itself  to  human 
conception  as  that  which  in  a  larger  way  than  individually 
must  be  exemplified  in  our  great  democratic  Government  it- 
self— in  all  public  affairs.  Though  this  new  day,  with  its 
rapid  commercialism,  its  gross  materialism,  its  growth  of 
class,  its  tendency  to  reason  rather  than  to  faith,  is  fraught 
with  the  dangers  that  always  accompany  commercialism,  ma- 
terialism, caste,  and  reason  apart  from  faith,  yet  righteous- 
ness and  love  make  open  warfare  on  the  tendency  of  the  times 
as  never  before,  and  with  clearer  recognition  than  ever  in 
the  past.  The  omens  are  good.  Works  of  charity  and  help- 

263 


MILITANT  METHODISM. 

fulness  abound.  Men  give  liberally  of  time  and  means  for 
others.  Distress  is  relieved  on  every  side.  Innumerable  or- 
ganizations are  maintained  for  the  uplift  of  mankind.  Never 
on  so  large  a  scale  has  Christianity  been  practiced.  Even 
the  nations  of  the  earth  respond  to  its  sentiments  in  their 
relations  with  each  other.  But  still  there  is  jar  in  the  world. 
Oppression  and  strife  continue.  In  some  quarters  brother  for- 
gets to  love  brother,  and  class  is  arrayed  against  class.  Prob- 
lems confront  us,  the  settlement  of  which  must  be  undertaken 
and  faced  bravely.  Christian  harmony  is  not  complete.  The 
simple  precepts  of  justice  which  we  have  observed  as  under- 
lying all  law  are  too  often  overridden.  Too  often  money  and 
might  prevail  over  right,  selfishness  and  greed  over  brother- 
hood and  love.  Men  in  high  places  continue  to  forget  their 
true  relation  to  God  and  to  fellow-men.  Individual  citizens, 
in  the  face  of  blight  in  the  community,  stand  apace  though 
duty  loudly  calls.  With  all  our  blessings  and  achievements, 
with  all  our  good  works,  we  have  not  fulfilled. 

As  is  the  citizen,  so  is  the  State.  The  stream  can  not  rise 
higher  than  its  source.  The  citizen  is  the  leaven  in  the  loaf. 
The  ideals  that  we  should  have  in  government  can  only  come 
by  ideals  in  citizenship.  No  government  can  be  great,  good, 
and  useful  unless  its  citizenship  is  so.  The  strength  of  the 
whole  fabric  comes  from  the  material  of  which  it  is  made. 
The  State  is  not  merely  a  name,  or  a  base  reality.  It  is  a 
community  of  men. 

"What  constitutes  a  State? 

Not  high  raised  battlement  or  labored  mound, 
Thick  wall  or  moated  gate; 

Not  cities  proud,  with  spires  and  turrets  crowned; 
Not  bays  and  broad  armed  ports, 

Where,  laughing  at  the  storm,  rich  navies  ride; 
Not  starred  and  spangled  courts, 

Where  low-browed  baseness  wafts  perfume  to  pride. 
No;  Men,  high-minded  Men." 

Then,  how  necessary  that  men  be  prepared  for  true  citizen- 
ship !  How  necessary,  in  order  that  the  State  may  be  the 

264 


ACTUALIZING  THE  PROGRAM. 

great  administrator  of  God's  divine  precepts  of  man's  relation 
to  man,  that  the  citizen  be  what  the  State  should  be!  On 
every  hand  we  have  Complaint  that  officials  acts,  that  legis- 
lation, that  governmental  policy  are  not  what  they  should 
be.  Do  we  forget  that  these  things  so  often  condemned  are 
upon  the  whole  a  reflection  of  the  level  of  our  citizenship? 
We  seek  to  find  a  remedy  on  a  large  scale,  by  reforming  the 
government  itself.  We  imagine  that  the  whole  may  be  made 
good  by  a  stroke,  without  looking  to  the  foundation  of  the 
whole.  As  Mr.  Chesterton  says,  we  think  backwards.  We 
continually  overlook  the  fact  that  mere  legislation,  that  the 
mere  making  and  enforcing  of  laws,  that  fines,  penalties,  and 
imprisonment  do  not  put  conscience  into  the  mind  of  man. 
It  is  time  for  us  to  realize — and  to  act  on  the  realization — 
that  the  public  conscience  is  only  the  conscience  of  the  indi- 
vidual citizenship,  and  that  its  origin  is  not  primarily  in  the 
much  promulgation  and  enforcement  of  constitutions  and 
statutes.  The  source  of  that  conscience  is  elsewhere  indeed. 
It  lies  in  the  citizen's  conception,  by  a  spiritual  touch  with 
his  Maker,  of  those  siinple  but  divine  rules  by  which  his 
conduct  must  be  governed.  If  the  conscience  of  the  great 
majority  of  the  citizenship  is  of  high  order — if  it  is  nurtured 
by  a  touch  with  its  divine  source — constitutions  and  statutes 
will  reflect  it  and  will  be  obeyed.  Without  conscience  in 
citizenship  constitutions  and  statutes  make  only  a  weak,  ill- 
conceived  government.  We  must  begin  at  the  right  end  in 
our  reforms.  Not  with  the  government  merely,  but  in  the 
heart  of  the  citizen.  Let  us  cultivate  and  foster  in  every 
man,  in  every  community,  so  true  a  conception  and  practice 
of  man's  duty  to  his  fellow-man  that  the  same  shall  be  re- 
flected in  our  States  and  Nation,  by  executive,  legislator, 
and  judge,  and  thus  a  sovereignty  of  love  reign  supreme, 
even  over  the  minority  that  catches  not  the  inspiration. 
Great  questions  of  capitalism,  of  corporate  control,  of  the  re- 
lation of  employer  and  employee  take  up  the  time  of  our  states- 
men and  fill  the  columns  of  our  newspapers  and  magazines. 

265 


MILITANT  METHODISM. 

For  the  solution  of  these  questions  what  more  is  necessary 
than  a  citizenship  imbued  with  the  true  spirit  of  Christian 
charity?  Is  capital  at  all  dangerous  when  lawfully  accumu- 
lated and  expended  by  Christian  men?  Is  there  danger  of 
dishonest,  watered  stock,  of  unlawful  gains  at  the  expense  of 
the  public,  of  neglect  of  protection  for  the  lives  of  the  travel- 
ing public,  when  corporate  officers  are  Christian  men?  Is 
there  danger  of  continued  misunderstanding  in  labor  matters 
when  employer  and  employee,  following  the  creed  of  the  Car- 
penter of  Nazareth,  m'eet  as  brothers?  But  it  is  said  that 
perfection  can  not  be  hoped  for  and  that  all  men  can  not 
be  made  Christians;  all  capitalists,  corporate  officials,  em- 
ployers, and  employees  imbued  with  love  and  righteousness. 
True,  that  may  be.  But  the  power  of  might  and  right  are 
such  that  when  the  great  majority  that  control  in  this  Re- 
public have  felt  the  revival  and  impress  of  the  spirit  of  Christ, 
that  spirit  is  sure  to  be  reflected  in  the  working  out  of  every 
public  question. 

What,  then,  can  be  done  for  a  telling  uplift  of  our  citizen- 
ship so  that  high  character  in  it,  through  an  everyday  recog- 
nition and  practice  of  the  simple  rules  of  right,  justice,  and 
love,  may  redound  to  better  and  more  exalted  brotherhood 
and  government?  The  attainment  is  easy  if  men  will  only 
cease  to  live  for  self  and  live  for  others  as  well — if  men  every- 
where will  give  the  exalting  personal  touch.  The  attainment 
is  sure  to  be  achieved  when  men  shall  depend  for  good  not 
solely  on  the  power  of  money,  but  on  the  greater  and  more 
lasting  power  of  the  spirit  within  them.  Out  of  the  big- 
ness of  this  new  day  the  call  to  every  citizen  is  for  the 
best  that  is  in  him.  Shall  we  not  take  advantage  of  the 
great  and  ready  opportunities  of  the  age  to  spread  the  gospel 
of  love  and  righteousness  ?  The  home,  the  Church,  the  school 
can  be  fostered  to  even  greater  results.  The  cause  will  ad- 
vance now  as  never  before,  if  we  are  bent  on  its  advance. 
The  modern  lines  of  communication  and  touch  will  spread 
it  swiftly  and  widely.  Shall  not  the  new  things  of  the  new 

266 


ACTUALIZING  THE  PROGRAM. 

day  be  used  for  Him  that  gave  them?  They  have  not  been 
given  to  us  for  our  selfish  ends.  The  railroad,  the  press,  the 
telephone,  the  automobile,  the  speedy  and  useful  things  in- 
numerable are  at  our  hands  for  service.  It  is  easier  than  ever 
to  do  good,  to  make  the  wide  brotherhood  of  man  that  exists 
materially  to  be  equally  as  wide  spiritually.  Shall  we  not 
use  the  new  day  for  our  spiritual  advance  rather  than  to 
allow  the  age  to  make  us  gross  by  its  comforts  and  ease? 
The  right-thinking  man  will  make  the  times  bend  to  his  re- 
ligion, not  his  religion  to  bend  to  the  times.  The  call  of 
the  new  day  is  to  every  man  with  power  for  good  in  what- 
ever way  he  may  possess  it.  The  truth  of  the  story  of  the 
talents  is  more  applicable  to-day  than  when  it  was  told  more 
than  nineteen  hundred  years  ago.  God  demands  in  this  en- 
lightened prosperous  day  that  we  personally  do  the  work  He 
has  assigned  us.  We  can  not  acquit  ourselves  by  farming  it  out 
and  depending  on  hired  servants  wholly  to  do  it.  We  our- 
selves are  servants.  In  God's  army  no  substitutes  are  ac- 
cepted. We  are  prone  to  think  it  enough  to  pay  the  preacher 
and  leave  to  him  alone  the  lending  of  encouragement,  love, 
and  uplift.  The  day  is  too  large  for  that  time-worn  method. 
"One  act  of  charity,"  says  Robertson,  "will  teach  men  more 
of  the  love  of  CtiUthan  a  thousand  sermons."  We  think 
of  missions  across  the  seas,  when  many  a  mission  personally 
for  us  is  calling  us  to  duty  if  we  only  open  our  worldly- 
blinded  eyes.  Not  alone  among  the  distressed,  but  in  politics, 
in  business,  is  there  missionary  work  for  the  Christian  citizen. 
That  the  new  day  may  be  really  glorious  and  bright,  men 
oan  every  hand  need  inspiration  by  good  deeds  and  good  words 
from  their  fellow-men.  The  lowly  and  less  fortunate  need 
the  strength  and  confidence  that  come  from  the  kindly  in- 
terest and  good-will  of  the  more  fortunate.  The  weaker 
citizen  must  be  spoken  to,  aided,  and  inspired  by  the  stronger. 
Soul  is  quick  to  catch  strength  from  soul  when  the  stronger 
soul  is  willing  to  lend  its  power.  Practical  Christianity  will 
rapidly  upbuild  and  extend  Christian  citizenship.  Chris- 

267 


MILITANT  METHODISM. 

tianity  needs  no  better  advertisement  than  its  practice. 
Though  the  sphere  of  most  men  is  limited  to  a  community, 
yet  what  may  not  be  expected  when  the  great  majority  of 
capable  men  that  compose  every  community  attend  daily 
to  the  advance  of  love  and  righteousness?  The  maintenance 
of  our  citizenship  lies  in  the  high  personal  touch  of  citizen 
with  citizen.  Here  we  may  paraphrase  the  Scottish  bard  and 
say  that  "Man's  humanity  to  man  makes  countless  thousands 
glad."  The  greatest  work  that  a  man  can  do  is  that  which 
lies  nearest.  His  first  duty  is  to  it,  from  its  very  situation. 
There  is  a  fortune  in  living  for  others.  In  this  the  age  is 
richer  than  in  all  else.  Too  many  of  us  want  to  be  seen  of 
men — to  do  what  we  mistake  for  great  things.  Better  to  write 
our  names  on  the  hearts  of  men  than  on  the  pages  of  history. 
Why  seek  so-called  greatness  anyhow?  True  manhood  over- 
tops all  titles.  The  last  shall  be  first.  Not  for  a  moment 
must  I  be  understood  as  speaking  for  a  soft-hearted  citizen- 
ship. The  Christian  citizen  has  a  big  heart  of  love,  but  a 
brave  soul  to  strike  down  oppression  and  unrighteousness 
when  the  militant  method  is  demanded.  No  true  Christian 
was  ever  a  coward.  History  has  proved  this.  Still,  how 
wonderfully  does  genuine  love  win  its  way!  What  barriers 
it  burns  away!  When,  however,  for  maintenance  of  right, 
courage  and  fight  must  come  into  action,  what  is  more  in- 
spiring than  the  fighting  Christian  citizen  ? 

There  are  gentlemen  who  will  say  that  the  thoughts  uttered 
in  this  address  are  ethereal  and  impracticable.  Yes,  too  many 
there  are  who  have  not  felt  the  true  meaning  of  life  and  its 
purposes.  To  them  no  apology  is  offered.  Let  them  not  re- 
tard us  in  the  conception  that  God  gives  us  of  personal  duty, 
but  let  us  by  such  a  tide  of  power  and  uplift,  starting  from 
our  own  noble  efforts,  make  them  to  see  what  unselfish  and 
truly  patriotic  work  will  do  for  the  betterment  of  the  race, 
and  thus  cause  them  to  join  the  procession  of  a  mighty 
majority. 

0  Methodist  Men,  here  assembled  from  every  part  of  our 

268 


ACTUALIZING  THE  PROGRAM. 

great  land,  the  new  day  calls  the  great  Church  which  we 
represent  to  greater  achievements  in  the  making  of  Christian 
citizenship.  Methodism  has  long  been  one  of  the  mighty 
forces  for  good.  In  this  age  of  ripest  opportunity,  we  shall 
surely  excel.  Our  God  is  marching  on ! 

The  New  Day  in  Evangelism. 

L.  J.   BlRNEY. 

METHODISM  was  conceived  of  the  Holy  Ghost  and  born  of  that 
virgin  Divine  Passion,  to  bring  this  world  to  God.  -She  was 
not  Brought  forth  into  the  world  to  methodize  it,  but  to 
vitalize  it.  And  she  has  just  one  right  to  claim  the  world 
to  be  her  parish; — not  her  years,  nor  her  millions,  nor  the 
continents  she  spans,  nor  the  doctrines  she  believes,  nor  the 
stars  she  has  already  placed  in  the  diadem  of  her  Lord. 
Just  one  thing:  the  measure  in  which  the  passion  that  gave 
her  birth  inspires  her  still.  "When  she  loses  that  she  ought 
to  die.  That  passion  is  the  very  quintessence  of  the  Kingdom 
and  the  love  of  God,  and  the  first  requisite  it  must  be  of 
any  Church  that  has  a  right  to  be  militant  or  can  ever  hope 
to  be  triumphant.  My  father  once  turned  an  old  horse  into 
the  best  pasture  on  the  farm  to  work  no  more,  but  to  receive 
the  tenderest  care  of  that  household  for  the  remainder  of 
his  days,  because  on  his  devoted  old  back  and  by  his  toil  the 
whole  family  had  been  reared.  And  so  he  ought  to  have  done. 
But  God  will  not  do  that  for  a  Church,  and  God  ought  not. 
For  the  Church  of  to-day  wrought  not  the  glorious  past. 
She  simply  inherited  it.  And  no  Church  can  claim  the 
future  by  virtue  of  a  great  past,  but  only  by  virtue  of  the 
great  passion  that  made  the  past.  There  is  no  protection 
to-morrow  because  of  service  rendered  yesterday.  God  is  just 
as  mercifully  merciless  in  the  Church  as  He  is  in  nature 
toward  the  organ  that  ceases  to  perform  its  real  function. 
It  tends  to  become  a  mere  appendix,  and  the  law  of  the  sur- 
vival of  the  fittest  seals  its  doom. 

269 


MILITANT  METHODISM. 

But  here  is  firm  ground  for  great  optimism,  for  not  in 
a  generation  has  there  been  such  a  restless  hunger,  such  a 
prophetic  yearning  to  know  how  to  bring  men  to  God,  how 
to  find  and  lead  the  great  crowd  of  wandering  sheep,  how  to 
lift  up  the  heavy  eyes  of  materialism  to  see  the  skies,  as  in 
this  thirteenth  year  of  the  century  which  is  to  behold  the 
mightiest  triumphs  for  the  Kingdom  of  God  this  world  has 
ever  seen.  The  inner  heart-cry  of  this  transition  age  is  slowly 
but  surely  gathering  into  a  great  chorus,  "Lo!  the  spiritual 
morning  cometh."  Commerce  has  obliterated  our  horizons, 
and  set  our  feet  firmly  in  a  great  brotherhood,  and  then  by 
the  magic  of  steam  and  lightning  has  contracted  the  world 
until  every  man  is  in  our  own  door-yard.  Science  is  again 
bowing  her  head  in  reverence;  philosophy  is  again  seeking 
the  altar  as  the  only  place  she  can  rest,  and  the  question- 
marks  that  frightened  every  traveler  on  every  road  a  decade 
since  are  turning  into  guide-posts,  and  religious  certainty  and 
intellectual  respectability  lie  down  together.  We  see  a  new 
day,  a  new  age.  a  new  world.  The  battle  of  scholarship, 
reverent  and  irreverent,  has  been  fought  about  the  old  land- 
marks, but  the  smoke  of  battle  clears  away  and  the  old  flag 
is  still  there,  and  the  great  fundamentals  upon  which  Meth- 
odism reared  her  mighty  structure  have  not  been  moved  a 
single  inch.  The  great  Church  is  swinging  back  again  to 
her  ancient  task  of  bringing  men  into  the  Kingdom  of  God. 
And  there  are  signs,  and  this  great  Convention  is  one  of  them, 
that  she  is  settling  down  to  that  gigantic  business  with  a 
concentration  and  a  determination  that  will  soon  challenge 
the  heroism  of  any  one  who  dares  to  "follow  in  His  train." 

But  in  this  new  day  we  discover  that  while  the  old  spirit 
is  all-sufficient,  the  old  methods  are  insufficient  for  the  her- 
culean task  that  the  Son  of  God  has  set  for  us.  There  are 
three  of  four  great  characteristics  that  stand  out  clear  and 
sure  against  the  background  of  the  evangelism  of  this  new 
day,  which  give  us  hope  and  courage.  One  of  them  is  the 
new  emphasis  upon  personality.  The  man  is  beginning  to 

270 


ACTUALIZING  THE  PROGRAM. 

stand  out  from  the  mass.  Julia  Ward  Howe  once  said  to 
Charles  Sumner  in  Washington,  "Come  down  to  my  house 
and  meet  a  personal  friend."  Sumner 's  reply  was,  "I  am 
losing  my  interest  in  individuals  and  becoming  interested  in 
the  race."  Julia  Ward  Howe  wrote  in  her  diary  that  night, 
"By  the  latest  accounts  God  Almighty  lias  not  got  as  far  as 
this. ' '  God  Almighty  never  will.  And  the  more  God  has  His 
way  in  this  world,  the  more  will  the  individual  come  into 
view.  And  the  Church  is  at  last  learning  to  see  Zaccheus 
instead  of  the  crowd  and  to  go  down  to  his  house  for  his 
soul's  sake. 

Methodism  has  had  masterful  skill  in  the  art  of  public 
appeal,  and  she  should  never  lose  that  line  art.  She  is  the 
mightiest  spiritual  force  on  this  continent  to-day,  because 
she  has  known  how  to  use  that  power  in  the  past.  But  it 
is  the  clearest  demonstration  of  history  and  the  surest  con- 
clusion of  reason  and  experience  that  this  world  will  never 
be  brought  to  God  by  public  appeal  alone,  for  the  great 
multitude  of  the  lost  sheep  of  the  House  of  Israel  never  hear 
the  public  appeal.  In  every  community  from  which  you  come 
— almost  every  community — there  are  sections  in  which  it  is 
the  ninety  and  nine  that  are  out  instead  of  the  one.  But  the 
ninety  and  nine  will  be  brought  back  exactly  as  the  one  was 
brought  back — by  sending  not  one  after  the  ninety  and  nine, 
but  ninety  and  nine  after  the  ninety  and  nine.  There  is  a 
far  deeper  principle  at  work  when  Phillip  goes  out  and  finds 
Nathanael  and  brings  him  to  Christ  than  when  Peter  stands  up 
to  preach  a  sermon  that  brings  three  thousand  to  Christ,  pro- 
vided that  the  Spirit  which  made  possible  the  latter  inspires 
the  former,  and  that  deeper  principle  rests  upon  the  fact  that 
the  final  reality  in  this  universe  is  not  any  truth  that  Peter 
announced  or  that  can  be  announced  in  any  public  appeal. 
That  final  reality  is  personality,  and  the  only  evangelism 
that  will  ever  bring  this  world  to  God  is  the  evangelism 
that  personalizes  itself  as  evangelism  has  never  done  in  the 
past.  Dr.  Durbin  once  said  in  a  great  congregation,  "No 

271 


MILITANT  METHODISM. 

man  is  ever  brought  fully  and  finally  to  Jesus  Christ  ex- 
cept through  the  office  of  some  other  person. ' '  Dr.  Peck  be- 
ing present,  arose  and  called  his  statement  in  question,  say- 
ing, ''Was  not  the  Ethiopian  brought  to  Christ  by  reading 
the  Prophet?"  And  Dr.  Durbin  replied,  ' ' Understandest 
thou  what  thou  readest?  and  the  eunuch  replied,  How  can  I 
except  some  man  should  guide  me  ? "  In  that  reply  Dr.  Dur- 
bin placed  his  skillful  finger  upon  one  of  the  great  funda- 
mentals of  the  coming  Kingdom  of  God.  There  are  three 
factors  in  that  Kingdom :  first,  a  Supreme  Person,  but  by  the 
very  law  of  personality  it  is  forever  impossible  for  that  Su- 
preme Person  to  find  His  way  into  humanity  except  through 
personality ;  personality  is  the  only  possible  revelation  of  per- 
sonality. "Go  ye"  is  just  as  fundamental  to  the  Kingdom 
as  the  principle  of  incarnation.  The  second  factor  in  the 
Kingdom  is  truth.  But  there  is  no  such  thing  as  truth  in 
the  Kingdom  aside  from  personality.  The  truth  of  astronomy 
or  of  physics  is  true  in  a  perfectly  lifeless  and  manless  world, 
but  the  superlative,  saving  truths  of  holiness  and  love  and 
redemption  and  regeneration  and  sanctification  and  atone- 
ment, these  do  not  even  exist  except  in  personality,  and  they 
can  find  their  way  into  human  hearts  only  through  person- 
ality. The  last  factor  in  the  Kingdom  is  the  world  of  persons, 
but  again,  by  the  very  law  of  truth  and  the  law  of  person- 
ality, the  Supreme  Person  and  the  supreme  truths  can  never 
reach  the  world  of  persons  except  through  personality.  The 
coming  evangelism  will  not  simply  depend  upon  a  few 
preachers  and  a  few  missionaries,  but  upon  a  multitude  of 
persons;  it  will  use  the  foolishness  of  preaching  not  less,  but 
it  will  use  the  high  wisdom  of  redeemed  personality  im- 
measurably more.  The  sermon  that  won  the  three  thousand 
to  Christ  on  the  day  of  Pentecost  has  dominated  our  ideals 
and  methods  all  too  long.  We  have  too  long  tried  to  bring 
in  the  Kingdom  by  addition,  and  the  Kingdom  will  never 
come  except  by  arithmetical  progression.  If  Peter  had  saved 
three  thousand  souls  every  day  after  Pentecost,  and  if  his 

272 


ACTUALIZING  THE  PROGRAM. 

so-called  apostolic  successors  had  had  religion  enough  to  do 
the  same  thing,  it  would  have  taken  a  thousand  years  to  bring 
the  world  to  Christ  as  the  world  was  in  Peter's  day,  and 
there  would  have  been  thirty  new  generations  unaccounted 
for;  but  if  each  of  the  three  thousand  had  gone  out  to  save 
one  a  year,  and  each  new  disciple  had  done  the  same,  the 
entire  world  would  have  been  reached  for  Jesus  Christ  a 
whole  generation  before  the  Gospel  of* John  was  written. 
If  those  blessed  feet  were  lifting  from,  this  earth  today  in 
ascension,  leaving  twelve  men  to  save  fifteen  hundred  million, 
and  all  the  world  were  pagan  beside,  and  the  twelve  would 
go  forth  each  to  win  one  a  year,  and  each  new  convert  would 
do  the  same,  before  the  babe  born  yesterday  would  reach 
eight  and  twenty  summers  every  man  and  woman  in  this 
world  would  have  been  brought  to  God,  or  at  least  have  had 
the  gospel  preached  to  him.  I  submit  that  in  the  light  of 
that  fact,  these  nineteen  hundred  years  of  so-called  Christian 
history  are  dangerously  near  to  blasphemy  when  they  are 
held  up  against  the  white  light  of  the  cross.  And  in  the 
light  of  that  fact  the  dream  that  has  been  in  great  souls  of 
the  gospel  being  preached  to  every  creature  in  this  generation 
is  not  fanciful  at  all,  but  is  of  easy  accomplishment  if  every 
nominal  discipleship  were  vitalized  into  reality. 

The  second  characteristic  of  the  evangelism  of  this  new 
day  is  a  deeper  discernment  of  the  nature  of  sin  and  its 
effect  upon  human  life,  and,  I  state  it  reverently,  the  dis- 
cernment that  no .  atonement  God  could  have  made  would 
absolutely  wipe  out  the  effects  and  results  of  sin  in  the  human 
life.  In  the  reaction  of  the  older  evangelism  from  the  moral 
horror  of  a  limited  election  we  swept  too  far  and  overstated 
the  nature  of  the  atonement  and  the  work  of  divine  grace 
in  the  human  heart.  We  made  it,  at  least  down  in  the  com- 
mon thought,  to  mean  not  only  the  power  of  God  to  cleanse 
from  all  sin  and  pardon  all  iniquity,  but  absolutely  to  sus- 
pend the  law  of  cause  and  effect,  of  seed  and  harvest;  and 
the  practical  result  of  that,  down  in  the  great  crowd,  was  an 
18  273 


MILITANT  METHODISM. 

easy  postponement  of  the  call  of  God  to  the  soul,  expecting 
a  full  recovery  by  the  power  of  the  atonement  at  a  more  con- 
venient season.  That  was  the  secret  of  the  pronouncement 
by  a  great  evangelist  a  few  years  ago  to  a  great  company 
like  this,  when  he  leaned  over  the  pulpit  and  said — he  was 
honest,  earnest,  sincere,  ,too — "0  mien,  come  back  to  God! 
No  matter  how  you  have  sinned  nor  how  long  you  have 
sinned,  and  God  wSll  make  your  life  as  if  you  had  never 
sinned."  That  is  not  true.  God  never  said  that;  God  never 
can  say  that.  And  the  evangelism  that  presumes  thus  to 
juggle  with  the  laws  of  life,  far  from  lifting  the  world  up 
from)  its  sin,  is  blinding  the  world  to  the  nature  of  sin  and 
teaching  the  world  to  meddle  with  God's  infinite  love.  The 
moral  government  of  this  universe  is  not  such  a  flabby  affair 
as  that;  and  the  new  evangelism  with  its  deeper  insight  into 
the  needs  of  humanity  and  the  nature  of  sin  and  the  pur- 
pose of  the  atonement  sees  just  as  clearly  as  ever  the  power 
of  pardon  and  of  God's  infinite  grace,  but  it  also  sees  and 
is  teaching  that  the  soul  that  is  out  of  Christ  for  a  single 
day  or  year  has  lost  something  that  Almighty  God  Himself 
with  all  His  love  and  power  can  never  give  back  again.  It 
is  seeing  and  it  is  preaching  that  the  prodigal  can  come  back 
from  the  swine  to  his  father,  but  that  he  has  left  forever 
with  the  swine  some  of  the  finest  and  highest  possibilities  of 
his  life.  It  is  seeing  that  there  are  no  crevices  in  this  moral 
universe  through  which  a  soul  can  slip  unnoticed  and  escape 
the  results  of  sin.  And  the  new  evangelism  is  translating 
that  fact  of  the  inevitable  result  of  sin  in  the  fiber  of  man's 
whole  moral  and  physical  and  intellectual  being  into  the 
terms  of  the  infinite,  brooding  love  of  God,  and  putting  it 
down  into  the  consciousness  of  the  great  crowd,  where  it 
is  bearing  fruit  in  a  new  sense  of  the  unescapable  God,  and 
in  the  conviction  that  the  Christian  life  is  the  only  life  that 
fits  into  the  moral  structure  of  this  universe.  And  preaching 
that  and  teaching  that  to  the  rising  generation  we  are  to 
have  a  new  grip  upon  the  conscience  of  the  world,  for  in 

274 


ACTUALIZING  THE  PROGRAM. 

spite  of  anything  we  may  say,  whether  or  not  it  is  right,  the 
great  world  about  us  is  losing  interest  in  punishment  for  sin 
in  the  future,  but  science  has  helped  us  to  convict  the  world 
of  the  irrefutable  fact  of  the  effect  of  sin  upon  life  to-day 
and  forever,  and  that  is  to  be  the  note  which  is  to  call  men 
everywhere  to  account  for  sin  until  they  are  able  to  discern 
a  higher  motive  for  holiness. 

And  that  leads  directly  to  the  third  great  characteristic 
of  the  evangelism  of  to-day  which  is  the  most  hopeful  of 
them  all.  One  of  the  greatest  things  that  Ruskin  ever  said, 
was  in  a  letter  to  Alfred  Tennyson.  One  day,  after  he  had 
taken  a  walk  in  London  and  saw  the  little  children  upon 
the  streets  wandering  without  a  shepherd,  he  went  back 
and  wrote  this  to  Tennyson:  "The  more  I  see  of  the  world, 
the  more  do  I  believe  that  not  the  sorrow  of  the  world  is 
the  wonder  of  the  world,  but  the  loss  of  the  world  is  the 
wonder  of  the  world.  I  see  by  every  wayside  perfect  mir- 
acles of  possibilities  in  the  lives  of  the  boys  and  girls  going 
to  waste  forever  without  a  teacher."  The  Church  is  wak- 
ing up  to  this  stupendous  fact,  that  the  chief  business  of 
the  Church  is  not  at  all  to  save  the  lost,  as  we  have  believed 
for  centuries.  The  chief  business  of  the  Church  of  Jesus 
Christ  is  to  save  loss,  which  is  immeasurably  more  difficult 
and  more  imperative.  There  is  just  one  wray  to  save  loss, 
the  incalculable  loss  that  our  Church  has  sustained  all  along, 
and  that  is  by  feeding  lambs  instead  of  hunting  sheep.  In 
God's  name,  brethren,  Methodists,  in  God's  name,  if  we  can 
not  do  both  (we  can),  let  us  keep  the  lambs  and  let  the  few 
sheep  stray  rather  than  to  hunt  a  few  sheep  and  let  the  lambs 
scatter  never  to  be  found  again.  We  will  never,  notwith- 
standing all  our  conventions  and  money  giving  and  devotion, 
accomplish  the  task  until  the  Church  learns  to  centralize  its 
work  around  the  conservation  of  b'fe  instead  of  the  reclama- 
tion of  life.  And  the  new  day  which  is  ahead  of  us  shows 
at  no  point  more  surely  than  in  the  change  of  attitude  toward 
the  child.  If  Methodism  had  been  as  true  practically  to  her 

275 


MILITANT  METHODISM. 

doctrine  of  the  child  as  her  doctrine  of  the  child  is  true  to 
the  nature  of  the  child  she  would  have  herself  held  the  bal- 
ance of  power  for  Protestantism  in  this  land  against  the  vast 
aggression  that  lifts  itself  up  everywhere  and  builds  its 
towers  upon  the  hilltop  in  every  city.  Why?  Because  long 
before  Methodism  was  born  she  learned  the  immeasurable 
value  of  the  child.  If  all  the  energy  and  devotion  and  the 
time  and  service  that  have  been  given  by  the  Church  uni- 
versal to  converting  men  into  the  Kingdom  of  God  had  been 
used  in  keeping  the  children  from  being  converted  out  of  the 
Kingdom  we  would  no  longer  be  praying,  "Thy  Kingdom 
come."  It  would  be  here.  It  will  never  be  here  until  the 
child  is  placed  in  the  heart  and  center  of  all  our  prayers 
and  efforts. 

One  more  characteristic  of  the  evangelism  of  this  new 
day  that  gives  us  hope  and  courage.  The  Church  of  to-day 
sees  just  as  clearly  as  did  our  fathers  that  social  reform  and 
uplift  will  never  come  except  by  the  regeneration  of  the  in- 
dividual, but  the  Church  of  to-day  sees  as  our  fathers  could 
not  that  to  put  the  regenerate  life  back  into  a  hopeless  moral 
and  social  environment  and  do  nothing  to  change  it,  is  a  sin. 
Science  reaches  the  fever  by  reinforcing  the  blood  in  the  veins 
of  the  individual,  and  then  it  gives  itself — in  almost  a  Chris- 
tian martyrdom — to  banish  forever  from  the  earth  the  con- 
ditions in  which  the  fever  was  bred.  So  in  this  new  day, 
not  only  does  the  ancient  passion  for  souls  still  burn  in  the 
hearts  of  men  as  they  seek  to  save  the  individual,  but  the 
same  passion, — the  passion  to  save, — is  burning  hot  in  the 
very  foundations  of  our  whole  social  structure,  to  destroy 
forever  the  conditions  that  have  made  so  long  and  so  sadly 
ineffective  our  work  for  the  souls  of  men. 


276 


IV.    LAYMEN  AND  THE  PROGRAM. 


What  Would  You  Be  Worth  If  You  Lost  All  Your 

Money? 

GEORGE  INNES. 

THERE  is  more  than  one  reason  why  I  am  glad  to  be  here 
to-night.  The  first  one  and  the  chief  and  important  one  that 
I  shall  speak  of  is  the  happiness  and  joy  that  I  have  that  I 
may  be  able  to  perform  some  little  service  for  the  Methodist 
Church,  because  the  Methodist  Church  did  a  great  deal  for 
me.  When  I  was  a  young  boy  just  out  of  school  and  en- 
gaged in  business  for  myself,  there  was  no  organization  of 
the  Church  that  I  was  a  member  of  then,  and  the  Methodist 
Church  took  care  of  me  and  ministered  to  me  richly  for  years 
as  a  member  of  its  body,  and  I  am  therefore  glad  indeed  that 
I  can  be  with  you  to-night.  There  is  a  second  reason  why 
I  am  glad  to  be  here,  and  it  is  because  in  this  room  about 
eight  years  ago  I  heard  the  peculiar  message  which  showed 
me  that  the  thing  for  a  servant  of  God  to  do  was  to  consecrate 
his  property  as  well  as  his  life. 

The  subject  that  has  been  given  to  me  for  to-night  is  one 
that  came  to  me  some  few  years  ago.  I  was  in  business  at 
that  time.  I  am  a  Methodist  to-night — I  was  for  seven  years 
— and  surely  we  are  not  going  to  apologize  for  giving  per- 
sonal testimony  in  a  Methodist  meeting.  I  was  in  business 
in  Southern  Minnesota.  I  had  several  lines  of  business  in 
the  place  where  I  lived.  I  was  engaged  in  the  retail  lumber 
business  and  in  the  grain  business,  and  also  in  the  bank,  and 
in  colonization  in  Northwestern  Canada.  One  night,  after  we 
had  taken  an  inventory  in  our  lumber  business  and  an  inven- 
tory in  some  of  the  other  lines  of  work,  and  found  that  the 

277 


MILITANT  METHODISM. 

profits  were  very  good,  and  after  we  had  had  our  annual 
meeting  of  the  directors  of  the  bank,  and  had  paid  a  very 
nice  dividend,  I  said  to  my  wife:  "I  am  going  to  the  bank 
to-night  and  I  am  going  to  be  gone  until  pretty  late.  Do  not 
wait  for  me."  She  said:  ''What  are  you  going  to  do  at  the 
bank?  Is  any  one  else  to  be  there ?"  "No,  I  am  going  down 
because  I  have  some  work  I  want  to  do."  I  knew  the  profits 
that  we  made  in  the  lumber  business,  and  in  the  grain  busi- 
ness, and  in  the  bank,  and  I  knew  after  a  few  minutes  I  could 
get  at  the  profits  on  the  land,  and  I  don't  know  whether  any 
of  you  men  know  the  real  joy  of  anything  like  that,  but  I  was 
going  to  have  a  real  good  old  souse  in  covetousness.  I  was 
just  going  down  and  figure  that  out  and  sit  there  and  have 
a  good  old  time.  So  I  went  down  and  I  wrote,  ' '  Here  is  your 
profit  on  lumber,  and  here  is  your  profit  on  hardware,  and 
here  is  your  profit  on  grain,  and  here  is  your  profit  on  the 
bank, ' '  and  then  I  figured  out  the  values  of  land,  and  I  said, 
' '  That  is  startling — I  did  not  think  it  would  be  so  much,  but 
here  it  is."  I  thought  again,  "No,  I  did  not  think  it  would 
be  so  much,"  and  I  said,  "Now  for  a  good  time."  But  the 
Lord  spoke  to  me  and  He  said :  ' '  You  did  not  figure  on  this 
extra.  You  are  going  to  have  a  good  time  from  that  which 
you  did  not  earn,  and  now  do  you  not  think  you  ought  to 
thank  Me  before  you  go  to  enjoy  yourself  this  evening?" 
So  there  in  my  office  alone,  with  the  curtains  drawn,  I  got 
down  on  my  knees  and  thanked  God  for  giving  me  a  few 
thousand  dollars  which  I  considered  that  I  had  not  earned. 
"Now,"  I  said,  "I  can  have  a  good  time  because  the  rest  is 
mine ;  I  got  this. ' '  But  He  said :  ' '  Who  gave  you  the  power 
to  get  that?  Don't  you  think  you  ought  to  thank  Me  for 
that,  too?"  I  said,  "That  is  true,  You  gave  it  to  me  all 
right;  I'll  get  down  and  thank  You."  And  so  I  did.  Then 
to  my  dismay  He  asked  me  another  question.  He  said: 
"What  would  you  say  if  I  were  to  take  it  all  away  from  you? 
The  Lord  gives  and  the  Lord  takes  away;  would  you  say, 
'Blessed  be  the  name  of  the  Lord?'  "  Would  I  say  it?  I 

278 


ACTUALIZING  THE  PROGRAM. 

said,  ' '  That  is  different. ' '  Then  the  thought  came  to  me,  and 
I  think  the  Lord  spoke  and  said :  "You  have  figured  up  what 
you  are  worth  with  this  money.  You  say  you  are  worth  so 
much.  What  would  you  be  worth  if  I  took  it  away?  What 
else  would  you  have?" 

The  fact  was  that  I  did  not  have  anything  that  I  knew  of. 
I  had  been  a  member  of  the  Church  for  nearly  twenty  years. 
Often  I  had  said,  ''Lord,  give  me  the  grace  and  courage  to  go 
out  and  win  some  one  for  You."  All  my  life,  since  at  the  age 
of  twelve  I  had  joined  the  Church,  I  had  desired  to  do  this. 
But  the  years  slipped  by  and  I  did  not  do  it.  One  day  I  was 
traveling  from  Devil's  Lake,  Dakota,  to  a  town  in  Montana. 
As  I  lay  in  my  berth  it  seemed  to  me  that  the  Lord  spoke  to 
me  and  said,  "To-morrow  you  are  going  to  die."  It  startled 
me  and  frightened  me,  and  then  I  remembered  as  I  looked 
my  Visitor  in  the  face  and  prayed,  that  the  Lord  had  said,  "I 
will  take  care  of  you."  So  I  said,  "It  is  all  right;  I  can  go 
with  You."  But  He  looked  at  me  and  said,  "But  you  are 
going  alone. ' '  That  is  a  terrifying  thing :  to  go  into  eternity 
alone.  The  Lord  said  to  me:  "You  know  every  stick  of 
lumber,  every  bushel  of  grain,  every  acre  of  land.  Why  don't 
you  deal  with  Me  in  that  way  ?  Do  you  know  any  lost  ones  in 
this  town  ?  Why  don 't  you  make  a  list  of  them  ? "  So  I  wrote 
down  their  names.  I  thought  of  a  competitor  in  the  grain 
business  who  was  a  good  friend  of  mine  and  who  would  be- 
lieve me.  And  I  thought  I  would  go  to  him.  But  then  I 
thought,  "He  will  ask  me  about  the  man  who  has  been  work- 
ing for  me  for  twenty  years."  But  I  said,  "I  can  not  go  to 
him,"  I  could  not  win  my  friend  until  I  did  go  to  this  man. 
I  saw  that,  but  I  said,  ' '  I  will  call  the  preacher  in  to-morrow 
and  ask  him  to  go  and  get  my  co-worker  out  of  the  way,  and 
then  1  will  go  to  this  friend  of  mine."  I  actually  did  that 
thing.  I  called  the  preacher  in  and  said,  "Have  you  ever 
spoken  to  Charley  about  his  soul?"  "No."  "Don't  you 
think  you  ought  to?"  And  he  said,  "Yes,  I  ought  to,  I 
know  it."  Then  something  came  to  me  and  the  voice  said, 

279 


MILITANT  METHODISM. 

"You  know  that  all  the  King's  horses  could  not  pull  that 
man  into  the  Kingdom  over  the  top  of  you ;  why  don 't  you  go 
to  him  and  confess  ? "  I  said,  ' '  I  will  go ;  you  need  not  go. ' ' 
Well,  I  will  not  detain  you  men  with  the  whole  story.  I  went. 
I  met  him  at  the  door.  He  expected  that  I  wanted  to  talk  to 
him  about  some  business.  When  I  said,  "Charlie,  don't  you 
want  to  take  Christ  as  your  Savior?"  he  broke  into  tears  and 
was  saved. 

We  talk  about  personal  service — the  reason  we  do  not  do 
it  is  because  we  are  cowards.  Not  long  after  that  I  moved 
to  a  large  city.  I  canvassed  the  Churches  of  that  city,  one 
hundred  evangelical  Churches,  and  found  only  two  with  men 
who  made  it  their  business  to  go  into  the  streets  and  alleys  and 
try  to  win  other  men  to  Jesus  Christ.  I  joined  one  of  them. 
For  the  years  I  was  in  that  city  there  was  scarcely  a  Sunday 
afternoon  passed  that  I  and  others  were  not  in  the  streets  of 
that  city  trying  to  win  men,  and  I  can  remember  only  two 
Sundays  when  men  were  not  brought  into  the  Kingdom. 
They  will  come.  I  came  home  one  Sabbath  afternoon  and 
went  into  the  house  and  told  my  wife  what  a  great  God  we 
had  had.  She  said :  ' '  Our  oldest  boy — he  was  five  years  old 
then — ' '  asked  me  a  strange  question  last  week ;  he  said,  '  Why 
aren't  you  and  papa  and  I  missionaries?'  I  don't  know 
what  put  that  into  his  head."  I  said,  "What  did  you  say 
to  him?"  She  said,  "I  did  not  know  what  to  say."  Men, 
what  would  you  say  ?  If  you  Christian  men  of  the  Methodist 
Church  were  asked  that  question  why  you  couldn't  be  a  mis- 
sionary, what  would  you  say,  what  legitimate  reason  could 
you  give  for  not  being?  I  said,  "We  will  have  to  answer 
him,  he  is  our  boy:  we  can  not  let  a  thing  like  that  go  un- 
answered." It  was  midnight  that  night  before  we  went  to 
sleep,  and  before  we  went  to  sleep  there  was  a  plan  promised 
to  God  that  we  would  go  away  unto  the  farthest  ends  of  the 
earth  for  Christ's  sake,  and  if  He  wanted  us  to  stay  there 
we  would  stay,  and  if  He  did  not  want  us  we  would  come 
home  and  re-engage  in  business,  because  God  calls  men  into 

280 


ACTUALIZING  THE  PROGRAM. 

business  as  definitely  as  into  the  foreign  field,  and  whatever 
we  made  would  be  for  Him.  The  thing  was  signed  by  writ- 
ing a  letter  to  my  mother  and  a  brother.  We  bought  our 
tickets  and  started  out.  I  had  thought  I  had  known  some- 
thing about  stewardship  up  to  that  time.  This  question  of 
stewardship  is  a  mighty  problem,  and  speaking  of  steward- 
ship, what  does  it  mean  ?  Does  it  mean  tithing  ?  To  my  mind 
it  means  tithing  afterwards;  after  what?  After  the  thirty- 
third  verse  of  the  forty-fourth  chapter  of  Luke,  and  not  until 
then.  What  is  that  verse?  ''Whosoever  he  be  of  you  that 
renounceth  not  all  that  he  hath,  he  can  not  be  My  disciple." 
That  is  the  stewardship  of  property.  Jesus  Christ  was  talk- 
ing to  those  who  were  to  follow  Him  in  this  great  conquest 
of  this  world,  and  He  said,  ' '  Before  we  start  we  might  as  well 
have  this  thing  understood;  whosoever  there  be  of  you  who 
renounces  not  all  that  he  has,  he  can  not  go  with  Me. ' ' 

You  have  been  discussing  here  in  the  last  few  days  the 
problems  of  the  Church.  As  a  layman  not  pretending  at  all 
to  be  one  who  can  diagnose  all  the  ills  of  the  Church,  let  me 
tell  you  frankly  what  I  think  is  the  matter.  I  think  down  at 
the  root  of  the  whole  thing,  the  trouble  lies  here.  Why  do  we 
say,  "What  is  the  matter  with  the  Church?"  when  we  know. 
Do  you  allow  liars  and  drunkards  in  the  Church  ?  No.  Paul 
said  in  Colossians,  "Mortify  the  sins  within  you,"  and  he 
names  the  awful  sins  of  lust,  passion,  and  evil  desires,  and  he 
winds  up,  as  though  putting  a  climax  on  the  whole  thing,  by 
saying,  "Beware  of  covetousness,  which  is  idolatry."  Why 
need  we  ask  what  is  the  matter  with  the  Church  when  we 
know  that  the  amount  of  unconsecrated  money  in  the  Church 
of  Jesus  Christ  to-day  that  has  not  been  laid  upon  the  altar 
would  evangelize  the  world  a  thousand  times  over.  You  find 
it  mentioned  perhaps  more  than  anything  else  in  the  Bible. 
All  through  the  Scripture  it  lies  cheek  by  jowl  with  adultery. 
You  hear  Billy  Sunday  and  think  he  uses  pretty  strong  lan- 
guage, but  you  read  the  first  eight  chapters  of  Jeremiah  and 
you  will  find  language  than  which  Billy  Sunday  could  not 

281 


MILITANT  METHODISM. 

use  stronger.  Jeremiah  speaks  of  the  evil  of  adultery  into 
which  Israel  has  gone,  and  in  the  fifth  to  the  eighth  chapters 
he  says  that  this  adultery  which  has  consumed  Israel  is  con- 
suming Judah,  and  they  are  given  over  to  covetousness. 
And  if  that  is  not  a  picture  of  the  world  that  gives  more  to 
tipping  porters  on  the  train  than  it  does  to  the  Church  of 
Jesus  Christ,  I  do  not  know  what  it  is.  I  am  condemning 
myself  with  you.  I  remember  before  this  vision  came  to  me 
that  I  was  sitting  one  Sunday  morning  in  Church,  when  the 
annual  plate  was  passed  round  for  the  collection  for  For- 
eign Missions.  I  was  sitting  there  when  the  plate  came  down, 
and  I  was  thinking  about  some  business  enterprise  I  was 
going  to  carry  out,  and  I  actually  put  the  large  sum  of  twenty- 
five  cents  on  that  plate  as  my  offering  to  God — the  expression 
of  my  desire  that  the  world  would  be  brought  to  Jesus  Christ. 
I  did  not  hear  much  of  the  sermon — do  not  know  much  what 
he  said,  but  I  knew  that  I  had  committed  a  sin;  I  had  con- 
science enough  left  for  that.  I  went  to  the  preacher  after- 
wards and  said,  "I  do  not  believe  I  gave  enough  this  morn- 
ing; here  is  five  dollars,"  and  he  was  so  happy  about  it  that 
he  wanted  to  put  my  picture  in  the  paper.  When  the  fact  of 
the  matter  was,  that  before  that  year  closed  I  had  been  to 
Indianapolis  and  sat  in  this  hall  and  went  home  and  figured 
out  my  obligations  for  Foreign  Missions  alone  and  found  that 
it  was  $500  and  I  had  it  to  pay.  You  have  heard  Mel  Trotter 
tell  the  story  of  how  he  went  on  some  of  his  dreadful  de- 
bauches, and  how  he  went  home  after  one  of  these  days  and 
his  wife  met  him  at  the  door  and  said,  "Mel,  the  baby  is 
dead,"  and  you  have  heard  him  say  how  with  that  little 
dead  baby  in  his  arms  he  promised  his  wife  he  would  never 
touch  whisky  again,  and  you  have  heard  him  tell  how  he 
went  out  that  very  night  and  took  that  little  dead  baby's 
shoes  and  pawned  them  for  whisky.  That  is  an  awful  sin, 
but  I  want  to  confess,  men,  in  shame,  that  the  man  who  sits 
as  an  officer  of  the  Church  and  is  so  consumed  by  the  lust 
of  covetousness  that  he  will  put  twenty-five  cents  on  the  plate 

282 


ACTUALIZING  THE  PROGRAM. 

when  on  the  least  basis  he  owes  five  hundred;  I  want  to  say 
to  you  that  that  man  is  guilty  of  worse  sin  than  Mel  Trotter. 
We  heard  this  afternoon  of  the  thousands  laid  on  the 
shambles  of  lust  in  Chicago,  but  you  go  with  me  to  India 
and  I  can  show  you  ten  or  eleven  thousand  little  girls  every 
year  who  are  taken  to  the  temples  and  married  to  the  stone 
god,  that  their  lives  may  be  forever  spent  in  shame,  worship- 
ing the  gods  of  India.  Take  a  guide  and  go  and  see  it;  let 
that  guide  be  the  Holy  Spirit  and  none  other.  Let  Him  take 
you  to  these  regions,  and  if  you  have  eyes  to  see  and  ears  to 
hear  you  will  come  back  with  a  soul  scarred  with  scars  never 
to  be  erased.  But  that  is  just  sin — just  sin.  What  did  our 
Savior  say  when  He  stood  on  that  high  mountain  of  privilege, 
the  Mount  of  Olives ;  what  did  my  Savior  say  when  He  looked 
down?  Did  He  condemn  them  for  those  things  I  spoke  of  in 
India?  "No,"  He  said,  "Because  of  your  unbelief,"  and, 
friends,  your  unbelief  and  that  sin  of  covetousness.  We  say 
we  are  better  than  the  people  of  India,  I  remember  when  I 
came  back  from  that  trip  I  went  into  the  bank  where  I  had 
been  banking  as  a  business  man.  Before  I  went  away  they 
were  willing  to  give  me  anything  in  reason,  but  I  noticed 
when  I  came  back  from  that  trip  that  when  I  went  into  that 
bank  they  did  not  see  me.  I  knew  what  was  the  matter,  of 
course.  I  had  announced  that  I  was  to  be  some  kind  of  a 
missionary.  Finally,  one  day,  just  more  in  a  joke  than  any- 
thing else,  I  spoke  to  the  vice-president  of  the  bank.  I  said : 
"What  is  the  matter?  Before  I  went  away  you  were  always 
kind.  There  seems  to  be  something  different.  Have  I  done 
anything  to  offend  you  ? ' '  Well,  he  turned  to  me  and  he  told 
me  very  courteously  and  yet  very  plainly  that  he  just  simply 
thought  there  was  something  wrong ;  that  was  all.  Now,  men, 
you  would  not  like  to  be  considered  dippy,  would  you?  I 
didn't  like  that;  and  I  walked  out  of  the  bank  and  said: 
"Lord,  maybe  I  am  wrong.  Maybe  this  is  simply  a  fantastic 
thing.  Maybe  You  don't  want  me  to  do  it  at  all."  But  I 
prayed  on  the  steps  of  the  bank  and  said,  "Father,  give  me 

283 


MILITANT  METHODISM. 

something  that  I  can  get  hold  of  that  will  show  me  that  I 
am  right  or  that  I  am  wrong."  I  looked  back  to  a  morning 
in  Allahabad.  A  friend  of  mine,  Sam  Higginbottam,  who 
was  in  charge  of  a  leper  asylum,  said  to  me,  "Won't  you 
come  and  see  the  leper  asylum?"  I  said,  "No,  I  don't  care 
to  go  and  see  that."  Then  I  saw  that  he,  who  had  to  go 
among  these  people  every  day,  was  disappointed  that  I  would 
not  go  this  once.  So  I  said  I  would  go.  As  we  went  along 
he  told  me  how  it  used  to  be  a  mud  house  with  thatched  roof 
and  a  filthy  place.  But  he  said :  ' '  Now  it  is  different.  The 
appointments  are  good."  He  told  me  about  little  Frances, 
who  was  brought  up  in  an  orphanage  of  the  Church  Mis- 
sionary Society  of  England.  She  was  taken  sick  "and  the 
doctor  said  she  was  a  leper.  They  sent  her  to  Allahabad, 
accompanied  by  her  brother.  She  did  not  know  what  was 
the  matter  with  her  until  she  arrived.  When  she  saw  the 
asylum,  she  said  to  my  friend,  "Am  I  a  leper?"  She  fell 
on  her  brother's  neck  and  cried  until  they  were  afraid  she 
would  take  her  life.  Finally  one  day  my  friend  said  to  her: 
"Frances,  you  have  had  a  chance  in  life.  There  are  millions 
in  this  land  who  have  not  had  one  chance.  Can't  you  teach 
these  other  women  here  ? ' '  And  she  heard  his  word  and 
took  interest  and  heart  and  taught,  and  in  a  short  time  she 
had  won  these  women  to  Christ,  and  she  thanked  God  that 
He  had  sent  her  there.  And  so  I  began  to  understand  a 
little  of  how  our  Savior  was  willing  that  the  leprosy  of  our 
sin  should  touch  His  pure  life  that  He  might  win  us  to  Him. 
On  the  steps  of  the  bank  I  thought  of  little  Frances  and  of 
the  multitudes  in  all  lands  to  whom  Christ  wishes  to  come 
and  incarnate  Himself  in  them.  I  said :  ' '  No,  the  man  inside 
is  wrong.  It  is  no  mistake  to  give  your  life  for  them." 

I  wish  that  every  man  within  my  hearing  could  have  been 
where  I  was  awhile  ago.  I  wish  I  could  tell  you  how  much 
you  ought  to  appreciate  the  God-given  leaders  that  you  have. 
Your  heart  would  have  been  touched  as  mine  has  been  touched. 
I  wish  you  could  see  the  missionaries  on  the  fields  as  I  have 

284 


ACTUALIZING  THE  PROGRAM. 

• 

seen  them.  I  have  been  in  your  stations  in  China,  and  I 
want  to  say  to  you,  humanly  speaking,  the  reason  I  am  here 
to-night  is  because  of  the  unanswerable  challenge  of  the  mis- 
sionary. I  recall  the  day  when  I  was  taken  to  a  place  in 
Jerusalem  that  they  called  Calvary,  and  the  guide  pointed  to 
a  mark  in  the  black  pavement,  to  a  piece  of  marble,  and  said, 
"There  is  where  they  say  the  cross  of  our  Lord  stood,"  and 
he  pointed  to  another  and  another  and  said,  ' '  There  is  where 
they  say  the  other  crosses  were."  And  as  I  think  of  the 
lonely  graves  of  the  misvsionaries  in  foreign  fields  I  am  con- 
strained to  say,  "This  too  is  Calvary."  I  am  supposed  to 
speak  something  of  money.  I  agree  with  all  the  program 
you  have  for  money,  but. I  want  to  say  that  when  you  and  I 
win  this  world  for  Jesus  Christ  we  will  do  it  when  we  go  to 
Calvary,  and  not  until  then.  There  has  never  been  a  gen- 
eration since  the  Lord  went  to  glory  when  those  who  profess 
to  love  Him,  if  they  had  really  fellowshipped  with  Him,  could 
not  have  brought  the  world  to  our  God.  "Except  a  corn  of 
wheat  fall  into  the  ground  and  die  it  abideth  alone,"  and 
that  is  all  there  is  to  it.  To  my  mind  that  word  "alone," 
that  awful  word  "alone,"  is  one  of  the  saddest  things  I  can 
think  of.  To  spend  eternity  alone  is  a  dreadful  thought,  and 
yet  the  fact  is  that  there  are  to-day  among  our  Christians 
many  who  are  willing  to  spend  eternity  alone. 

Now  I  must  close;  I  did  not  realize  that  I  was  taking  so 
much  of  your  time.  I  go  from  place  to  place ;  but  men,  do  not 
think  me  guilty  of  coming  here  from  Philadelphia  that  I  might 
speak  to  you  some  easy  words.  I  have  come  to  you,  men  of 
Methodism,  for  I  have  been  one  of  you,  and  I  am  still  one  of 
you ;  and  I  say,  let  us  go  to  the  altar  and  give  it  all.  Use  the 
same  earnestness  in  giving  testimony  in  reference  to  steward- 
ship as  you  do  when  you  ask  the  Lord  to  take  away  your  sin. 
About  three  hundred  years  ago,  a  mystic  said  that  to  his  mind 
the  bees  left  their  most  excellent  honey  in  the  wounds  of 
the  Lion  of  the  tribe  of  Judah.  Let  us  drink  long  and  eat 
long  of  the  sweetness  of  that  honey  of  the  rock.  My  last 

285 


MILITANT  METHODISM. 

• 

word  to  you  is,  let  us  believe  that  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven  is 
at  hand,  for  I  want  to  say  to  you  that  when  the  men  of  the 
Methodist  Church  and  the  men  of  my  Church  and  the  men  of 
other  Churches  will  give  on  the  altar  all  they  have  to  witness 
for  Jesus  Christ,  God  will  give  us  the  Kingdom. 

The  Laymen's  Witness  to  a  Supernatural   Gospel. 

FRED  B.  SMITH. 

WE  are  here  to-night,  answering  what  I  believe  is  the 
greatest  call  that  has  ever  been  announced  to  organized  Chris- 
tianity. We  are  Christian  men,  we  are  brave  men,  and  there- 
fore it  seems  to  me  it  is  not  at  all  out  of  place  that  in  the 
midst  of  the  sweep  of  this  mighty  spirit  we  should  pause  a 
moment  to  remind  ourselves  that  these  are  serious  days  in 
Christian  work.  We  are  in  the  midst  of  a  crisis  the  full 
measure  of  which  no  man  in  this  room  can  understand.  Now, 
when  I  make  use  of  that  over- worked  word  " crisis"  I  am 
reminded  that  there  has  always  been  a  crisis  in  Christian 
work,  that  there  always  will  be  a  crisis.  God  pity  that  man 
who  calls  himself  a  Christian,  who  does  not  every  day  feel 
that  he  is  meeting  a  crisis.  We  are  in  a  desperate  crisis. 
This  is  no  hour  to  be  optimistic.  There  is  a  crisis  on  to-day  in 
the  labor  world.  I  wish  every  one  of  you,  for  thirty  minutes, 
could  have  been  with  me  the  other  day  when  the  United 
Plumbers  of  two  great  cities  met  on  a  Sunday  morning  to 
discuss  whether  they  would  go  on  strike,  and  I  wish  you  could 
have  heard  a  wild-eyed  man  as  he  raced  up  and  down  the 
platform  like  a  demon.  He  said,  "If  we  ever  get  our  rights 
in  the  world,  we  must  smash  the  Church;  the  Church  is 
against  us,"  and  the  crowd  applauded  him.  0  yes,  there 
was  a  man  tried  to  answer  him,  but  he  was  hissed  down; 
while  that  wild-eyed  man,  who  said  the  only  way  the  laboring 
man  would  get  his  rights  was  to  crush  the  Church,  was 
cheered  to  the  echo.  Don't  belittle  that.  If  you  go  out  with 
one  of  those  stock-made  sermons  of  how  the  men  are  swinging 

286 


ACTUALIZING  THE  PROGRAM. 

into  the  Church,  you  only  prove  that  you  have  not  been  out- 
side of  a  spiritual  hothouse  for  a  long  time. 

There  is  a  crisis  on  in  the  commercial  world.  The  other 
day  twenty-one  men  sat  down  with  their  host,  who  was  a 
Christian  man,  and  launched  an  eight-million-dollar  enter- 
prise. After  that  their  host,  an  earnest  and  devoted  Church- 
man— seven-tenths  of  you  would  know  him  if  I  called  his 
name — said:  "We  have  launched  eight  million  dollars'  worth 
of  commerce  in  forty-five  minutes.  I  want  to  know  how  you 
stand  in  relation  to  the  Church."  He  went  around  to 
each  of  the  twenty-one,  and  seventeen  of  them  said  they 
were  Church  members.  Then  he  said:  "If  \ve  would  go  at 
the  Church  like  we  do  at  business,  we  ought  to  turn  this  town 
upside  down  in  a  year.  Of  you  seventeen  men  who  are  mem- 
bers of  the  Church,  what  are  you  doing?"  He  went  round 
the  table  again  and  asked  them  that  question.  Fourteen 
of  the  seventeen  said  that  they  had  ' '  cut  it  out, "  "  nothing  to 
it."  Out  of  the  whole  room  only  three  of  those  men  said 
they  were  vitally  in  the  Church. 

That  crisis  has  struck  the  educational  world.  The  other 
day  I  spoke  on  a  Sunday  afternoon  to  two  thousand  men  in  a 
university  where  there  were  four  thousand  registered.  The 
president  of  the  university  honored  us  that  afternoon  by  his 
most  cordial  words,  but  on  Monday  when  I  took  dinner  in 
his  home  he  said,  "I  was  conscious  that  you  lost  that  crowd 
at  one  place;  there  was  a  moment  when  they  got  away  from 
you."  I  said,  "When  was  that?"  He  said,  "Near  the  close 
you  plead  with  those  two  thousand  university  men  to  be  re- 
lated to  the  Church,  and  I  was  conscious  that  they  sagged 
away  from  you  when  you  said  that."  He  is  a  member  of 
the  Church.  I  said,  "What  is  your  inference?"  He  said, 
*'My  inference  is  this:  the  university  men  with  whom  I  am 
dealing  may  be  interested  in  welfare  work  and  social  reform 
and  political  reconstmction,  but  my  impression  is  that  the 
next  generation  of  university  men  are  not  going  to  be  church- 
men." I  do  not  agree  with  him  any  more  than  I  agreed  with 

287 


MILITANT  METHODISM. 

that  labor  agitator.  But  the  sad  thing  was  that  that  univer- 
sity president  said  it  and  thinks  that  way.  I  told  him  later 
that  the  trouble  with  him  was  that  he  was  hobnobbing  with 
the  wrong  crowd.  Notwithstanding  he  is  saying  it,  and  his 
attitude  is  reflecting  itself  in  the  university. 

That  crisis  is  on,  a  crisis  or  a  paralysis.  Before  we  leave 
this  never-to-be-forgotten  hall,  let  us  get  down  on  our  faces 
and  call  to  the  eternal  God  to  help  us  realize  the  seriousness 
of  this  hour.  Let  me  tell  you  to-day  the  insidious  tides  of 
the  heathen  world  are  sending  their  neutralizing  messages 
in  upon  us.  The  other  day  I  met  a  Buddhist  priest,  who  told 
me  he  was  sorry  to  miss  me  while  I  was  in  his  country.  I  said, 
"What  are  you  doing  here?"  He  said,  "What  you  were 
doing  in  my  country,  I  am  evangelizing."  I  said,  "You  are 
not  going  to  have  as  good  a  time  as  I  had."  He  said,  "All 
we  need  is  one  conference  and  we  will  put  our  brand  on 
every  Christian  Science  Church  in  this  country;  that  is  our 
doctrine. ' ' 

Notwithstanding  all  this,  I  believe  that  we  are  at  the 
beginning  of  a  tremendous  revival  of  religion.  There  is  an 
upheaval,  there  is  an  under-swelling  that  is  somehow  push- 
ing great  moral  ideals  to  the  front.  The  question  that  con- 
fronts us  to-night  is  whether  much  of  this  is  going  to 
clear  itself  from  the  Church,  whether  it  is  going  to  inhere  in 
a  new  cult  outside  the  Church.  But  I  am  bound  to  say  to 
you  this,  I  have  come  to  that  place  where  I  am  willing  to 
say  that  if  the  Church  is  so  conservative  that  she  can  not 
revise  her  curriculum  enough  to  include  some  things  that 
are  now  being  announced  in  the  moral  world,  I  will  say, 
O  God,  send  on  that  great  moral  wave,  even  although  it  has 
to  come  outside  of  the  Church!  We  have  this  condition 
to-day,  that  every  hall  of  legislation  is  turned  into  a  prayer- 
meeting.  There  is  not  a  State  Legislature  that  is  not  discuss- 
ing great  moral  topics,  and  now  we  have  in  the  man  at  the 
White  House  and  in  the  Premier  of  the  Cabinet  men  who  are 

288 


ACTUALIZING  THE  PROGRAM. 

prayer-meeting  leaders,  who  are  on  their  knees  asking  God  to 
lead  them  on. 

There  is  one  great  wave  that  is  around  us  in  our  country, 
a  sort  of  altruistic  wave  that  is  filling  everything.  The  last 
time  I  was  in  Tokio  one  of  their  leading  statesmen,  who  is 
himself  a  graduate  of  Harvard  and  a  Buddhist,  said  to  me: 
"You  Westerners  owe  us  a  lot  in  Japan.  You  came  in  with 
your  Western  civilizations  and  ideas  and  it  has  weakened 
our  old  faith  until  we  can  not  see  anything  in  it,  but  you 
did  not  give  us  anything  else,  and  you  owe  it  to  us  to  stand 
with  us  until  we  find  a  new  and  better  faith  for  Japan." 
And,  by  the  authority  of  the  Imperial  Government,  Japan  is 
now  on  a  search  for  a  religion.  Cross  to  China,  A  few 
weeks  ago  four  hundred  million  Chinese  said  their  prayers 
with  their  hearts  turned  toward  the  throne.  The  throne  is 
gone,  the  emperor  is  gone,  and  four  hundred  million  Chinese 
do  not  know  how  to  say  their  prayers — the  very  center  to 
which  they  prayed  has  been  removed,  but  I  can  not  help  but 
think  that  somehow  in  the  next  ten  years  there  is  a  chance 
to  put  Jesus  Christ  on  the  throne  in  China  as  perhaps  we 
will  not  have  for  one  hundred  years  more  if  we  miss  this 
present  opportunity. 

The  psychological  hour  for  the  achievement  of  Christian 
ideals  throughout  the  world  is  upon  us  to-day.  What  is  the 
world  asking  us  to-night?  One  thing  is  necessary,  and  I 
hasten  to  it.  If  we  are  going  to  put  Christianity  into  the 
heart  of  our  own  country,  if  we  are  going  to  make  Christianity 
the  battle  cry  of  sociology,  if  we  are  going  to  make  Christianity 
the  religion  of  the  world,  we  must  step  into  the  clear  with 
one  explicit  statement,  namely,  that  ours  is  the  supreme  re- 
ligion. 

I  am  asked  to  speak  to-night  upon  the  witness  of  the 
laymen  to  a  supernatural  religion.  And  I  am  bound  to 
pause  here  a  moment  to  say  that  I  am  afraid  that  we  Chris- 
tians ourselves  have  been  almost  apologizing  in  such  a  tone 
•»  280 


MILITANT  METHODISM. 

of  voice  that  we  have  dulled  tremendously  the  sharp  edge 
of  conviction  that  our  religion  is  a  supernatural  religion. 
Certain  insidious  influences  have  been  at  work  until  it  is 
amazing  to  find  how  many  Christian  men  lower  their  voices 
almost  to  a  whisper  when  they  speak  about  the  miraculous 
birth,  the  miraculous  resurrection,  the  miraculous  ascension. 
We  have  pretty  nearly  in  many  circles  lost  the  ring  of  our 
voice  when  we  talk  about  the  supernatural  elemtents  of  our 
religion.  First  of  all,  we  have  juggled  with  the  Bible  until 
it  is  amazing  how  cautiously  some  men  have  to  select  any- 
thing from  the  Bible.  I  do  not  want  to  be  classified  with 
the  man  who  objects  to  any  critical  study  of  the  Bible,  but 
I  do  want  the  critical,  scientific  man,  if  he  is  a  Christian, 
when  he  finishes  to  say,  "That  is  the  Word  of  God  and  no 
other  book  is. ' '  And  I  want  him  to  finish  by  saying  that 
it  is  an  absolutely  impossible  Book  to  understand,  for  in 
the  hour  when  you  fully  understand  that  Book,  I  turn  to 
some  other.  I  believe  that  Christ  is  not  a  Savior,  but  the 
Savior.  I  believe  that  Book  is  not  one  of  the  text-books  of 
religion,  but  the  Text-book  of  religion.  We  want  a  new 
declaration  that  this  Christianity  is  a  supernatural  religion 
emanating  from  the  heart  of  the  loving  God. 

What  are  our  evidences  of  the  supernatural  in  the  world  ? 
How  are  you  going  to  know  our  faith  is  supernatural  as  is  no 
other  faith  ?  We  are  not  bereft  of  knowledge ;  we  are  not  be- 
reft of  argument.  I  can  take  a  man  who  tells  we  that  rational- 
ism is  the  order  of  the  day  and  I  will  say  to  him,  "Will  you 
please  explain  to  me  by  rationalism  the  existence  of  the 
Bible?"  I  will  tell  him  that  the  two  Bible  Societies,  the  Brit- 
ish and  the  American,  last  year  published  two  million  copies  of 
it,  and  that  for  seventeen  centuries  practically  unchanged  that 
Book  has  been  standing.  I  will  say  to  him,  "Please  explain 
that  to  me."  Well,  that  is  a  partial  evidence.  'It  is  not  full 
evidence.  I  could  not  take  the  case  to  a  jury  on  that  alone. 
It  would  satisfy  me,  but  not  all  men.  We  are  not  bereft  of 
evidence.  Some  men  tell  me  that  Christianity  is  only  a 

290 


ACTUALIZING  THE  PROGRAM. 

rational  evolution,  only  a  little  higher  development  of  cer- 
tain ethical  ideas,  and  that  Jesus  Christ  was  only  a  man 
born  like  other  men  and  who  died  like  other  men.  I  say, 
"Very  well,  but  explain  to  me  the  Church."  Any  man 
who  talks  about  the  Church  dying  out  permanently  is  in- 
tellectually in  the  same  school  with  the  man  who  stands  at 
the  ocean  where  the  tide  has  been  running  in  until  the  banks 
are  full  and  then,  by  the  laws  of  the  tides,  starts  receding; 
this  ignoramus,  not  knowing  the  law  of  the  tides,  stands  there 
and  says,  "Ah,  ha!  this  creek  is  going  dry!"  The  Church 
is  going  to  live  until  Jesus  Christ  has  finished  His  work  of 
redeeming  this  world.  I  have  seen  Africa,  India,  Burma, 
and  Ceylon.  Metaphorically,  let  me  tell  you  what  the  newest 
building  is  in  every  town;  the  newest  building  in  every  city 
we  visited  was  a  church  or  a  hospital  built  in  the  name  of 
Jesus  Christ.  Again  I  ask  the  man  who  says  that  our  religion 
is  only  rational,  "Answer  me,  where  did  we  get  our  moral 
standards?"  There  are  some  evidences  of  the  supernatural 
in  the  Bible  after  seventeen  centuries  of  an  unbroken  career ; 
there  is  evidence  of  the  supernatural  in  the  presence  of  the 
Church;  there  is  evidence  of  the  supernatural  in  the  moral 
ideas  of  Christianity,  but  the  supreme  witness  of  the  super- 
natural is  nothing  but  a  redeemed  individual,  a  soul  born  out 
of  sin  into  the  light  and  liberty  of  Jesus  Christ.  I  wish 
to-night  to  accent  every  method  I  have  heard,  and  they  have 
been  great.  What  has  been  programmed  to-day  in  this  hall, 
whether  you  call  it  militant  Christianity  or  some  other  word, 
you  have  heard  a  program  that  if  you  work  for  seriously  will 
make  Methodism  militant.  Do  you  want  to  know  the  method 
that  will  push  it  clear  through  to  the  front?  It  is  the  method 
that  looks  squarely  after  the  redemption  of  the  individual 
soul.  In  other  words,  the  program  of  the  salvation  of  the 
individual  man  is  that  thing  which  finally  nails  down  tight 
Christianity  as  a  supernatural  religion.  I  say  it  because 
no  other  religion  has  it.  I  rode  north  from  Calcutta  with 
Professor  Boesch,  who  in  1893  was  at  the  World's  Parlia- 


MILITANT  METHODISM. 

ment  of  Religions  at  Chicago.  We  discussed  Hinduism  for 
two  days.  I  was  ashamed  to  find  that  that  Hindu  professor 
was  vastly  more  familiar  with  the  Bible  than  I  was.  He  got 
me  again  and  again  by  references  to  our  Bible,  and  he  in- 
sisted that  I  should. read  those  great  passages  from  the  hymns 
of  the  Vedas,  and  he  would  say,  "Have  you  anything  more 
beautiful  in  your  Bible?"  I  read  to  him  the  Sermon  on  the 
Mount,  and  when  I  went  through  the  Beatitudes  he  did  confess 
that  he  did  not  think  they  had  anything  in  their  literature  that 
could  match  them,  but  he  believed  that  somehow  they  must 
have  been  dug  up  in  ancient  Hinduism,  and  I  was  at  my 
wits'  end.  I  said  to  him,  " Suppose  some  man  in  Hinduism 
is  taken  in  sin  and  goes  down  in  awful  passion  to  the  bottom — 
what  has  Hinduism  got  for  him?"  He  said,  "0,  Mr.  Smith, 
Hinduism  does  not  pretend  to  cure  sin."  I  said  to  hint, 
' '  Professor,  you  have  not  any  religion  at  all :  Christianity  pro- 
poses to  cure  sin. ' '  Why  do  I  emphasize  that  ?  First,  because 
it  makes  Christianity  supreme ;  secondly,  because  it  is  the  basis 
of  this  whole  social  reconstruction.  The  sociologist  says  that 
now.  Every  man  says  that  the  social  reconstruction  must  be 
based  upon  individual  regeneration.  Let  me  tell  you  that 
any  method  of  social  welfare  which  does  not  reckon  with 
individual  regeneration  is  just  as  wise  as  whitewashing  a 
fence — it  will  wash  off  in  the  next  storm. 

There  is  a  problem  that  confronts  us  to-night  in  fulfilling 
your  program.  Is  it  money?  No.  It  is  life  we  need.  And 
how  are  you  going  to  get  life?  We  need  a  supernatural 
action  on  the  man's  life.  We  need  more  men  converted — 
soul,  mind,  and  body — to  God.  Then  we  will  get  money. 
I  tell  you,  my  friends,  if  you  ever  dull  the  edge  of  the  indi- 
vidual relation  to  God  in  conversion  and  just  smooth  it  out 
in  a  freak  sociological  appeal,  our  Missionary  Boards  are 
going  to  go  hungrier  yet  for  men.  It  is  life  we  need. 

Again,  this  needed  evangelism  is  going  to  be  very  largely 
propagated,  sustained,  and  extended  around  the  life  of  the 
laymen.  This  is  going  to  be  a  laymen 's  contest.  I  say  to  you 

292 


ACTUALIZING  THE  PROGRAM. 

ministers,  "Do  not  be  afraid  of  the  layman;  push  him  out 
into  the  arena  and  let  him  be  a  fool  for  Christ's  sake  if  he 
must."  A  minister  said  to  me  the  other  day,  "I  do  not  dare 
to  trust  my  laymen  to  lead  the  mid-week  prayer-meeting, 
for  once  in  a  while  a  man  makes  a  terrible  break."  Let 
him  make  the  break ;  what  he  says  is  not  the  thing — it  is  the 
fact  that  he  is  there;  he  is  the  new  apologetic.  Men  are 
asking  this  question:  "Can  a  man  be  a  Christian  on  a  day 
like  this;  can  a  laboring  man,  who  has  to  feel  the  injustice 
of  his  life,  be  a  Christian?  And  can  the  employer,  who  has 
done  everything  in  his  power  for  his  men  for  years  and  knows 
they  are  going  to  strike  at  him,  be  a  Christian?"  Who  can 
answer  that?  The  preacher?  No;  he  may  help  a  little';  no, 
but  essentially  the  layman. 

This  is  what  I  close  with:  have  we  got  the  power  to  do 
the  proposed  work?  Let  me  turn  you  away  from  programs 
and  scientific  statements  and  problems,  and  let  us  cry  out 
for  that  supernatural  power  that  will  carry  through  this 
thing  without  defeat. 


PART  V. 

The  Larger  Outlook. 


a  }3Ua  for 

WE  have  come  to  the  last  day  of  this  great  Convention.   It  has  been  mani- 
fest, I  am  sure,  to  every  one  who  has  been  present  that  the  Lord  has 
been  with  us  each  day  and  hour  of  our  session.      I  pray  that  this  last 
day  we  may  all  be  instant  in  prayer,  that  our  hearts  may  go  up  before  our 
Lord  and  bespeak  His  Divine  presence  in  our  gathering  to-day.    This  has  been 
a  holy  place.     The  Lord  has  been  peculiarly  manifest  in  all  our  sessions.    Let 
us  continue  to  wait  upon  Him. 

This  Convention  was  conceived  in  the  minds  of  a  few,  and  in  their  thought 
it  grew  from  two  days  to  three  days,  and  finally  to  a  Convention  of  four  days' 
duration.  To  some  it  seemed  as  if  we  were  undertaking  too  much,  but  the 
Lord  was  leading  us,  and  He  has  approved  our  doing  with  His  presence.  And 
now,  men,  as  we  begin  this  last  day,  let  us  pray  for  eyes  to  see,  hearts  to  un- 
derstand, and  wills  ready  to  realize  the  larger  opportunities  that  are  surely 
ours  in  the  near  coming  Kingdom  of  our  Lord  and  Christ. 

J.  EDGAR  LEAYCRAFT. 


The  Larger  Outlook. 

VITAL  Christianity  has  an  ever-broadening  vision.  Growth  in 
spiritual  life  necessitates  a  widening  horizon.  The  relationship 
to  Jesus  Christ  which  is  first  personal,  in  forgiveness  of  sin 
and  a  life  based  upon  new  ideals  and  stimulated  by  a  new 
power,  rapidly  widens  to  take  into  its  fellowship  others  of 
like  life  and  purpose.  Nor  may  the  circle  of  interest  remain 
fixed.  A  growing  understanding  of  the  Master  reveals  far- 
reaching  claims.  God  is  the  universal  Father,  Christ  is  the 
world-Savior.  All  kingdoms  are  yet  to  be  permeated  with 
the  ideals  of  His  Kingdom  and  move  onward  and  upward 
through  its  inherent  and  indwelling  power. 

It  was  fitting  that  the  final  sessions  of  the  Convention 
should  be  given  over  to  a  consideration  of  the  larger  outlook 
for  the  coming  of  the  Kingdom.  The  program  swept  wide 
horizons — education,  literature,  benevolence,  world  influence, 
and  world  conquest  through  the  accepted  ownership,  leader- 
ship, and  lordship  of  the  Christ.  The  hours  were  surcharged 
with  firm  purpose,  vital  faith,  and  radiant  hope.  The  ulti- 
mate regnancy  of  Christ  in  all  the  affairs  and  institutions 
of  the  race-life  was  the  confident  note  of  the  closing  day. 


I.  THE  LARGER  OUTLOOK  FOR  EDUCATION, 
LITERATURE,  AND  BENEVOLENCE. 


For  Education. 
WILLIAM  H.  CRAWFORD. 

THERE  is  substantial  agreement  that  Methodism  did  wisely  in 
founding  schools.  There  is  not  substantial  agreement  as  to 
the  wisdom  of  continuing  to  maintain  them  all.  The  theo- 
logical schools  are  a  necessity.  If  men  are  to  give  their  lives 
to  preaching  and  expounding  the  Word  and  to  defending  the 
faith,  they  must  be  trained  for  it,  just  as  men  are  trained 

297 


MILITANT  METHODISM. 

for  medicine  and  law.  The  most  economical  method  and  the 
best  method  of  furnishing  such  training  is  the  theological 
school. 

The  academy  is  another  matter.  Here  there  is  wide  dif- 
ference of  opinion.  I  shall  perhaps  fairly  represent  the  senti- 
ment of  our  educational  leaders  if  I  say  that,  in  a  region 
where  there  are  no  adequate  high  school  facilities,  the  Church 
does  wisely  in  maintaining  academies.  And  I  mjay  say  this, 
too,  that  for  the  sake  of  those  of  high  school  age  who  do  not 
and  can  not  have  proper  home  surroundings,  and  for  those 
past  high  school  age  suddenly  awakened  to  the  need  of  an 
education,  the  Church  would  do  well  to  make  provision  by 
maintaining  academies.  The  academy  has  done  much  for 
Methodism.  To  my  thinking,  it  is  still  an  exceedingly  im- 
portant factor  in  the  life  of  the  Church.  It  will  be  a  long 
time  before  we  can  well  do  without  it. 

But  what  about  our  colleges  ?  If  there  are  wide  differences 
of  opinion  as  to  the  academies,  there  are  still  wider  differ- 
ences of  opinion  as  to  the  colleges.  Many  there  are  who  say 
that  it  is  no  part  of  Methodism's  task  to  maintain  institu- 
tions of  higher  learning.  They  admit  there  may  have  been 
need  for  these  institutions  in  an  earlier  day,  but  not  now. 
We  might  as  well  face  the  fact  that  only  a  small  proportion 
of  our  people  take  higher  education  seriously.  'I  mean  higher 
education  as  represented  in  the  schools  of  the  Church.  There 
are  scores  interested  in  missions  to  one  who  cares  any- 
thing about  education.  Perhaps  this  is  not  nice  talk.  But 
what  is  this  gathering  of  Methodist  men  for?  Are  we  not 
here  to  see  things  as  they  are?  Shall  we  not  have  a  square 
look  at  the  worst  as  well  as  the  best?  Can  we  hope  to  gain 
anything  by  smooth  sayings  which  cover  up  the  truth?  I 
am  here  this  morning  to  tell  you  that  in  the  matter  of  her 
schools  Methodism  to-day  faces  a  crisis — a  crisis  which  is 
staggering  some  of  our  strongest  men.  I  know  men,  princely 
men,  connected  with  our  educational  work  who  do  not  know 
which  way  to  turn.  It  is  bad  enough  to  face  the  blinding 

298 


THE  LARGER  OUTLOOK. 

storm,  of  criticism  and  opposition  from  outside  the  Church. 
We  expect  that.  But  to  be  struck  at  as  we  are  by  so  many 
within  the  Church !  That  is  hard  to  bear;  but  that  is  our  lot. 

Let  me  tell  you  what  some  of  the  critics  are  saying  about 
us  just  now.  One  group  says,  The  State  will  take  care  of 
education.  If  we  accept  the  common  schools  at  the  hands 
of  the  State,  why  not  the  college  and  the  university?  We 
pay  our  taxes  for  the  support  of  these  institutions.  Why 
should  not  our  sons  and  daughters  have  the  advantage  of 
them?  The  annual  income  of  State  universities  is  from  a 
quarter  of  a  million,  to  a  half-million,  to  three-quarters  of  a 
million,  to  a  million,  and  two  at  least  just  about  touch  the 
two-million  mark.  So  the  State  universities  and  colleges  ought 
to  be  good  enough  for  anybody. 

A  second  group  of  critics  says :  Our  money,  the  money  of 
the  Church,  is  needed  for  missions  and  other  benevolences. 
Africa  is  calling;  so  are  China  and  India,  Korea  and  South 
America;  the  festering  sores  of  our  great  cities  are  crying; 
the  indemnity  for  the  wrongs  done  to  the  black  man  must 
be  satisfied ;  hospitals  should  be  built ;  homes  and  asylums  and 
sanitariums  ought  to  be  multiplied. 

A  third  group  of  critics  says:  The  schools  ought  to  take 
care  of  themselves.  For  more  than  a  century  the  Church 
has  been  pouring  her  money  into  the  colleges  and  universities. 
They  have  been  given  buildings  and  equipment  and  endow- 
ments up  into  the  millions.  The  time  has  come  to  call  a 
halt.  If  the  colleges  do  not  have  enough  money  after  all 
the  begging  they  have  been  doing,  let  them  raise  the  tuition 
fee.  People  who  want  a  college  education  for  their  children 
should  pay  for  it.  No,  sir.  Not  another  dollar  for  the  colleges. 
They  must  take  care  of  themselves. 

I  might  mention  other  groups  of  critics,  but  the  three 
named  are  enough  to  serve  my  purpose.  You  see  without 
further  argument  that  my  subject  has  its  ugly  aspects.  Our 
cause  is  not  by  any  means  a  lost  cause,  but  in  the  case  of 
many  of  our  institutions  it  is  a  losing  cause.  If  we  do  not 

290 


MILITANT  METHODISM. 

bring  the  Church  to  a  larger  appreciation  of  the  worth  and 
need  of  our  schools,  and  that  right  speedily,  many  of  them 
will  have  to  go  out  of  business. 

My  own  conviction  is,  and  it  is  a  very  earnest  conviction, 
that  if  MetJwdism  shall  continue  to  grow  and  prosper  and 
do  her  full  share  in  the  work  of  redeeming  this  old  world 
for  our  Christ,  she  must  foster  and  maintain  her  colleges  on  a 
much  larger  scale  than  heretofore.  I  say  a  much  larger  scale 
because  of  the  greater  need  and  the  greater  opportunity.  In 
support  of  this  proposition,  I  bring  a  threefold  argument. 
I  maintain  that  Methodism  should  maintain  her  colleges  on  a 
much  larger  scale,  first,  for  the  sake  of  the  home  and  social 
life  of  our  people.  There  are  hundreds  of  boys  and  girls 
every  year  who  make  up  their  minds  for  college  because  the 
appeal  comes  from  the  Church — the  Church  in  which  they 
were  born,  the  Church  in  which  they  were  converted,  the 
Church  in  which  they  have  been  reared.  It  adds  much  that 
the  institutions  to  which  they  are  pointed  and  invited  are 
under  the  patronage  of  the  Church.  There  are  large  num- 
bers of  parents  who  are  willing  to  entrust  their  sons  and 
daughters  to  such  institutions  who  would  otherwise  decide 
against  the  higher  educational  program  altogether.  This  also 
ought  to  be  taken  into  account,  that  no  home  is  complete 
nor  is  the  social  atmosphere  of  a  community  complete  unless 
it  includes  appreciation  of  scholarly  achievement,  a  taste  for 
good  books  and  high  standards  of  culture.  The  college  as  a 
part  of  the  program  of  the  Church  in  an  immensely  potent 
influence  in  bringing  about  such  conditions.  The  scholarly 
men  in  the  Faculties  of  our  colleges  become  known  in  Meth- 
odist communities  and  Methodist  homes.  Our  people  take 
pride  in  the  part  they  play  in  the  educational  life  of  the 
Nation.  In  some  such  way  the  culture  of  the  college  in- 
fluences the  life  of  the  home,  of  the  Church,  and  of  the  com- 
munity. 

The  second  part  of  my  argument  for  larger  maintenance 
for  our  colleges  is  that  we  ought  to  do  it  for  the  sake  of  an 

300 


THE  LARGER  OUTLOOK. 

efficient  leadership  in  the  Church.  If  you  will  read  the  his- 
tory of  Methodist  triumphs,  you  will  find  that  in  almost  every 
instance  the  leadership  has  been  vested  in  men  trained  in  our 
own  schools.  Look  at  the  men  who  are  leaders  to-day.  Who 
are  they  ?  Take  our  chief  pastors,  for  instance.  Who  are  the 
foremost  intellectual  and  spiritual  leaders  among  them  ?  They 
are  the  graduates  of  our  Methodist  colleges.  Take  the  men 
filling  our  most  important  pastorates.  Who  are  they  ?  Nearly 
all  are  graduates  of  Methodist  colleges.  Take  the  men  who 
are  making  our  Church  literature.  Who  are  they  ?  Gradu- 
ates of  our  Methodist  colleges,  every  one  of  them.  What 
about  our  foreign  missionary  secretaries?  What  about  the 
men  who  are  leaders  in  the  work  of  home  missions?  What 
about  our  Freedmen's  Aid  secretaries?  What  about  the 
leaders  in  the  Sunday  school  work,  the  Epworth  League, 
the  Brotherhood  movement,  the  Federation  for  Social  Service  ? 
Who  are  the  outstanding  men  in  evangelistic  work?  Who 
are  grappling  with  the  down-town  problem,  striving  to  redeem 
the  waste  places  of  our  great  cities?  Almost  without  excep- 
tion they  are  the  graduates  of  our  Methodist  colleges. 

For  her  positions  of  greatest  responsibility,  when  leader- 
ship of  the  highest  type  is  required,  Methodism  is  almost 
wholly  dependent  upon  the  men  who  have  been  trained  in 
her  own  schools.  Is  there  any  prospect  that  it  will  be  other- 
wise in  the  future?  I  see  no  sign  of  it.  On  the  contrary,  it 
looks  to  me  that  the  Methodism  of  the  future  will  be  even 
more  dependent  upon  the  men  whose  training  has  been  in 
the  colleges  founded  and  maintained  by  Methodism.  Only 
the  other  day  I  read  a  report  of  some  studies  which  have 
been  made  under  the  direction  of  the  Board  of  Education  of 
the  Presbyterian  Church.  It  was  found  that  of  the  recruits 
for  the  ministry  and  for  home  and  foreign  missions,  less  thau 
seven  per  cent  came  from  State  universities,  while  an  average 
of  over  eighty-three  per  cent  came  from  Church  colleges. 
I  believe  in  the  State  universities,  and  I  hope  you  do.  But 
is  it  not  perfectly  clear  that  these  are  not  the  institutions  to 

301 


MILITANT  METHODISM. 

which  we  must  look  for  our  future  preachers,  our  missionaries, 
and  our  Church  leaders? 

The  third  part  of  my  argument  for  doing  more  in  the  way 
of  maintaining  our.  colleges  is  that  we  ought  to  do  it  for  the 
sake  of  the  cause  of  education.  When  the  Martyrs'  Memorial 
at  Oberlin  College  was  dedicated,  President  Stryker,  of  Ham- 
ilton College,  said  that  the  great  need  of  education  in  our 
time  is  moral  revival  at  the  very  heart  of  it.  I  believe  that 
to  be  true.  Education  in  this  country  sadly  lacks  in  moral 
dynamic.  I  am  gratified  that  several  of  our  strongest  Meth- 
odist educators  have  gone  to  the  presidency  of  State  uni- 
versities. I  hope  to  live  to  see  the  day  when  there  shall  be 
no  State  university  in  all  this  land  which  does  not  have  at 
its  head  a  man  of  strong  Christian  character  and  influence. 
I  want  the  superintendents  of  education  in  our  large  cities 
to  be  men  of  the  same  type.  I  want  the  same  thing  for  the 
principals  of  our  high  schools  and  all  the  schools.  If  this 
shall  come  to  pass,  it  must  be  brought  to  pass.  I  desire,  and 
you  do,  that  Methodist  colleges  with  their  ozone  of  moral 
earnestness  shall  help  and  help  largely  in  the  training  of  men 
for  these  positions.  We  can  do  it  if  the  Church  will  give 
us  the  men  and  the  money. 

I  have  come  now  to  the  point  where  I  want  to  say  a  word 
about  the  position  of  our  critics.  The  critics  say,  The  State 
will  take  care  of  education.  I  say  it  is  absolutely  impossible 
for  the  State  to  furnish  the  sort  of  education  we  must  have. 
The  education  we  need  is  the  kind  that  is  in  sympathy  with 
the  ideals  and  aims  and  work  of  the  Church,  an  education 
surcharged  with  the  teaching  and  spirit  of  Jesus  Christ. 
This  the  State  university  is  prohibited  from  doing  by  the  very 
terms  of  its  charter.  The  critics  say,  The  money  of  the  Church 
is  needed  for  missions  and  other  benevolences.  I  say  there  is 
no  hope  for  any  missions  in  the  future  to  give  money  for — 
home  missions  or  foreign  missions — unless  we  maintain  our 
colleges.  Where  are  the  greatest  centers  of  missionary  senti- 
ment ?  In  our  colleges.  Where  must  we  look  for  missionaries 

302 


THE  LARGER  OUTLOOK. 

to  carry  on  the  work  we  have  begun  in  foreign  fields  ?  Where 
only  can  we  look?  To  our  colleges.  Bishop  Bashford  was 
right  in  sending  his  money  to  Ohio  Wesleyan  University  and 
saying  that  he  could  do  more  for  China  in  this  way  than  by 
giving  the  money  directly  to  China.  The  critics  say,  The 
colleges  ought  to  take  care  of  themselves.  I  say  that  if  we 
keep  our  colleges  within  the  reach  of  the  poor  boy  and  the 
boy  of  average  means,  the  boy  from  the  farm  and  the  boy 
from  the  home  of  the  mechanic,  there  is  no  hope  for  us  but 
to  have  help  and  large  help  from  the  Church. 

On  behalf  of  the  educational  institutions  of  our  Church, 
I  ask  for  three  things ;  and  I  want  you,  the  men  of  Methodism, 
to  stand  by  us  and  see  that  we  get  them.  The  things  I  ask 
for  are:  First,  that  the  next  General  Conference  shall  so 
legislate  in  the  interest  of  the  financial  support  of  our  schools 
as  to  make  effective  what  we  thought  we  had  accomplished  at 
the  last  General  Conference.  We  want  one,  and  only  one,  col- 
lection for  education  from  every  local  Church  in  Methodism. 
Second,  I  ask  that  throughout  the  Church  the  cause  of  educa- 
tion be  put  side  by  side  with  the  cause  of  foreign  missions  and 
the  cause  of  home  missions  as  equally  great  and  equally  de- 
serving. Third,  I  ask  that  those  who  bear  rule  among  us  shall 
use  all  means  in  their  power  to  encourage  Methodist  people 
everywhere  to  pray  for  our  schools  and  talk  for  them,  to  de- 
fend them  and  support  them.  If  these  things  be  done,  I  have 
faith  to  believe  that  in  the  future  even  more  than  in  the  past 
the  schools  of  Methodism  will  constitute  a  vital  part  of  her 
greatest  strength. 

Brothers,  the  best  has  not  been  reached.  We  could  not 
be  Methodists  and  believe  that.  If  I  seem,  to  prophesy  too 
much,  it  is  because  I  find  warrant  in  the  way  mighty  men 
of  the  past,  trained  in  the  schools  of  the  Church,  have  under 
God  "turned  the  stream  of  centuries  out  of  its  channel," 
overturned  governments  and  transformed  commflinities  and 
nations.  If  John  Wyclif  could  go  forth  fromi  a  college  in 
Oxford  to  be  the  morning  star  of  the  Reformation,  if  Martin 

303 


MILITANT  METHODISM. 

Luther  could  go  from  Wittenberg  to  be  the  mightiest  religious 
reformer  in  all  the  Christian  centuries,  if  John  Wesley  could 
go  from  Christ  Church  College  to  lead  in  the  greatest  spiritual 
awakening  since  Pentecost,  if  James  M.  Thoburn  could  go 
from  Allegheny  College  to  be  the  peerless  and  apostolic  mis- 
sionary for  India,  if  John  R.  Mott  could  go  from  Upper  Iowa 
University  to  be  the  most  potent  leader  of  Christian  men  in 
nineteen  centuries,  influencing  the  college  men  of  the  world 
as  no  one  else  has  ever  done ;  if  these  and  miany  others,  trained 
in  the  Christian  college  of  yesterday,  have  so  wrought  right- 
eousness, subdued  kingdoms,  and  turned  to  flight  the  alien 
armies  of  ignorance,  atheism,  and  superstition,  is  it  too  great 
a  stretch  of  faith  to  believe  that  the  college  of  to-morrow  will 
do  as  much?  It  is  our  high  privilege  to  build  more  secure 
the  foundation  of  the  college  in  deep  learning  and  to  beautify 
its  superstructure  in  all  the  graces  which  grow  out  of  fervent 
piety. 

For  Christian  Literature. 
DAVID  G.  DOWNEY. 

CHRISTIAN  literature  may  be  defined  as  that  form  of  lit- 
erature which,  in  utter  loyalty  to  the  moral,  ethical,  and 
spiritual  principles  of  Christ,  influences,  molds,  and  con- 
trols life.  The  question  for  our  consideration  this  morning 
concerns  the  larger  outlook  for  such  literature.  That  the  age 
is  thrillingly  and  throbbingly  alive  is  not  open  to  question. 
On  every  side  and  in  every  realm  we  see  the  evidences  of  an 
intense  and  tremendously  energetic  life.  It  is  indeed  true  that 
much  of  the  force  of  life  is  expended  objectively.  The  tend- 
ency of  the  time  is  toward  action  rather  than  thought,  and 
because  of  this  we  sometimes  question  the  present  place  and 
the  future  power  of  Christian  literature.  It  is  worth  remem- 
bering, however,  that  next  to  fiction,  books  dealing  with  some 
phase  of  religion  are  the  best  sellers.  And  it  should  further 
be  remembered  that  not  a  few  works  of  fiction  or  of  the 

304 


THE  LARGER  OUTLOOK. 

imagination  are  themselves  religious  or  semi-religious — deal- 
ing with  the  ideals  and  principles  of  Christ  and  Christianity. 
While  there  is  much  magazine  and  book  literature  that  is 
crude,  bizarre,  non-moral  and  positively  immoral,  it  must  not 
be  forgotten  that  the  ethical,  social,  and  spiritual  ideals  of 
Christianity  have  achieved  a  standing  and  secured  a  hearing 
in  these  very  types  of  literature  such  as  they  have  never  had 
heretofore.  The  world,  the  reading  world,  is  interested  in  the 
things  that  concern  religion  in  general  and  the  Christian  re- 
ligion in  particular.  Nor  m|ust  we  forget  the  brilliant  galaxy 
of  younger  men — essayists,  editors,  and  poeig — who  in  our 
own  day  are  thoroughly  loyal  to  the  essentials  of  Christianity. 
As  one  reads  the  essays  of  Benson  and  Brierly,  of  Van  Dyke 
and  Mabie,  of  Chesterton  and  Crothers,  he  knows  full  well 
that  "no  dead  mechanism  moves  the  stars  or  lifts  the  tides 
or  calls  the  flowers  from  their  sleep.  Truly  this  is  the  garment 
of  the  Deity  and  here  is  the  awful  splendor  of  the  perpetual 
Presence."  And  what  shall  be  said  of  the  modern  poets — of 
Richard  Watson  Gilder  and  Edward  Rowland  Sill,  of  Sidney 
Lanier  and  Henry  Van  Dyke,  of  Vaughn  Moody,  Edwin 
Markham  and  Frederic  Lawrence  Knowles?  This  much  at 
least — they  are  not  singing  of  bonnets  and  bodices,  of  the 
amours  and  intrigues  of  illicit  love,  of  the  fashions  and  foibles 
of  an  inane  social  world.  No;  they  have  tuned  their  lyres 
to  high  themes,  and  the  message  of  each  and  all  is  the  message 
so  sturdily  sounded  by  Gilder  when  he  says : 

Keep  pure  thy  soul ! 

Then  shalt  thou  take  the  whole 

Of  delight; 

Then,  without  a  pang, 

Thine  shall  be  all  of  beauty  whereof  the  poet  sang — 

The  perfume,  and  the  pageant,  the  melody,  the  mirth 

Of  the  golden  day,  and  the  starry  night ; 

Of  heaven,  and  of  earth. 

Oh,  keep  pure  thy  soul ! 

At  the  present  hour,  as  we  survey  the  field  there  is  every 
reason  for  encouragement.    Christian  literature  is  not  retiring 
20  305 


MILITANT  METHODISM. 

from  the  field  defeated  or  discouraged.  Many  opponents  are 
struggling  for  the  mastery.  There  is  the  call  and  cry  of 
eager  contestants,  but  our  historians  and  theologians,  our 
singers  and  our  essayists  are  still  heard  and  felt.  What  of 
the  future?  The  future  is  with  us  and  the  children  whom 
God  hath  given  us.  The  realm  of  literature  is  a  realm  to 
be  not  only  claimed,  but  actually  conquered  for  Christ.  Chris- 
tianity must  make  literature  a  means  of  grace,  a  channel 
through  which  the  power  of  the  Spirit  shall  freely  flow. 

Every  fresh  and  vital  movement  of  humanity  creates  its 
own  literature.  Such  a  movement  was  primitive  Christianity. 
And  we  have  the  •  literature  of  that  movement.  That  is  the 
incomparable  literature  simply  because  the  movement  itself 
was  incomparable  and  unrepeatable.  The  power  of  Chris- 
tianity's impact  upon  human  thought  and  feeling  is  evident 
in  the  abiding  influence  and  power  of  the  literature  that  it 
created.  How  bare  and  poor  the  world  would  be  bereft  of 
the  four  Gospels,  the  letters  of  Paul,  John  and  Peter,  and  all 
that  great  body  of  literature  that  clusters  about  these  mas- 
terpieces! The  Christian  life  created  a  new  literature,  and 
the  literature  and  the  life  combined  created  a  new  world. 
With  a  slight  change,  Van  Dyke's  word  about  Christ  is  true 
of  that  early  Christian  literature  of  which  Christ  was  pre- 
eminently the  source:  "Where  it  came  a  new  efflorescence  of 
faith  and  hope  and  love  flowed  over  the  landscape  of  the 
inner  life.  Flowers  appeared  in  the  earth  and  the  time  for 
the  singing  of  birds  was  come."  Such  a  movement  we  find 
again  in  the  period  generally  known  as  the  Renaissance. 
Humanity  drank  from  newly  discovered  springs  of  knowl- 
edge and  the  refreshed  and  illumined  intellect  of  the  race 
went  forth  to  the  intellectual  conquest  of  the  world.  The 
Troubadours  began  to  sing,  the  artists  to  paint,  the  sculptors 
to  carve,  and  the  poets,  philosophers,  theologians  and  his- 
torians to  write.  It  was  the  revival  of  learning  because  it 
was  the  revival  of  life,  and  out  of  life  came  the  letters  and  the 
literature.  Another  such  fresh  and  vigorous  hour  struck 

306 


THE  LARGER  OUTLOOK. 

when  the  sound  of  Luther's  hammer  reverberated  round  the 
world.  It  was  largely  an  era  of  theological  discussion.  Chris- 
tianity was  fighting  for  the  right  to  live  and  to  be  free. 
Luther  and  Melanchthon,  Erasmus  and  Zwingli,  Calvin  and 
Cranmer  stand  pre-eminent.  Out  of  that  vital  movement  came 
the  Reformation  literature  with  all  that  it  implied  for  civil 
and  religious  freedom  in  Europe  and  in  the  America  just  then 
looming  large  upon  the  horizon  of  the  world.  Methodism  is 
another  illustration.  The  most  vital  and  humanizing  event 
in  the  history  of  the  eighteenth  century  was  the  speaking  and 
writing  of  the  Wesleys,  Whitefield,  Fletche^and  their  col- 
leagues. As  always,  so  then  the  new  life  shaped  for  itself 
a  fit  medium  for  its  expression.  We  find  this  new  expres- 
sion in  John  Wesley's  sermons  and  journals,  in  Charles 
Wesley's  hymns,  in  Fletcher's  Checks,  and  in  Adam  Clarke's 
Commentaries.  These  men  were  heretics  in  their  day  because 
they  were  abreast  and  more  than  abreast  of  their  age.  They 
are  the  standards  of  orthoxody  for  our  day.  Nor  has  Meth- 
odism on  this  side  the  sea  been  unmindful  of  her  duty  and 
opportunity.  She  has  had  her  historians  and  theologians,  her 
expositors  and  controversialists,  her  essayists  and  singers — 
all  voicing  in  their  own  way  the  superabundant  and  many- 
sided  spiritual  life  of  their  age.  This  age  of  ours  is  a  new 
day.  Its  characteristics  are  mastery  of  natural  forces,  intel- 
lectual grasp,  humanitarian  feeling,  spiritual  yearning  and 
search.  Christianity  must  produce  a  literature  that  fits  the 
hour.  The  old  elemental  and  fundamental  truths  must  be 
expressed  in  the  thought  forms  and  language  of  the  new  day. 
The  old  coin  needs  to  be  thrown  into  the  crucible  -to  come 
forth  new-minted  with  the  stamp  and  superscription  of  a 
Christianity  living  and  reigning,  not  in  the  first  or  the  tenth, 
but  in  the  twentieth  century.  Methodism  must  do  her  part 
in  this  great  work.  How  shall  this  literature  be  created, 
and  what  are  some  of  its  characteristics? 

We  must  prepare  leaders  in  literature.     Our  secondary 
schools,  our  colleges  and  our  theological  seminaries  have  no 

307 


MILITANT  METHODISM. 

more  important  task  than  the  training  of  young  men  and 
women  who  in  their  turn  shall  be  the  creators  of  a  Chris- 
tian literature  that  will  meet  the  need  of  our  modern  day. 
"We  need  theologians  and  historians,  expositors  and  essayists, 
poets  and  mystics — men  who  will  touch  the  whole  circle  of 
life  and  interpret  it  in  terms  of  moral  and  spiritual  value. 
What  are  our  schools  for  but  to  train  Christian  leaders  in  this 
as  in  every  other  department  of  life  ?  We  need  trained  Chris- 
tian scholars  who  will  dominate  in  the  newspaper  and  maga- 
zine world  and  make  that  realm  an  influential  power  in  up- 
building the  Kingdom  of  righteousness.  The  ancient  glory 
of  the  Church,  as  a  creator  of  literature,  is  in  danger  of 
slipping  away  because  we  are  so  busy  acting  and  doing  that 
we  do  not  have  time  to  think  and  brood  and  then  record  in 
permanent  and  worthy  form  the  ripe  fruitage  of  our  think- 
ing and  brooding. 

Christian  literature  of  to-day  and  to-morrow  will  be  con- 
structively progressive.  The  late  Dr.  Charles  J.  Little  has 
said:  "The  movement  of  the  gospel  is  the  miracle  of  his- 
tory; its  progressive  conquest  of  its  environment  is  the 
mightiest  victory  recorded  in  the  annals  of  mankind:  here 
are  displays  of  heroism  that  Alexander  might  have  envied 
and  Caesar  would  have  listened  to,  amazed.  The  Tenth 
Legion  of  Jesus  Christ,  His  glorious  company  of  martyrs 
recruited  from  all  countries  and  from  all  ages,  marches  across 
the  centuries,  trampling  trium/phantly  upon  the  slaveries  and 
barbarisms,  the  organized  unrighteousness  and  the  disorgan- 
izing brutality  of  the  ancient  and  mediaeval  world.  Yet  the 
splendor  and  variety  of  this  historic  miracle,  of  this  un- 
folding power  of  an  endless  life,  is  too  little  known  or 
scarcely  known  at  all.  The  splendor  of  it  and  the  inspira- 
tion of  it  both  are  lost. ' '  Who  will  recover  for  us  the  splendor 
and  the  inspiration  of  this  abiding  miracle?  Who  will  write 
for  us  in  this  humanitarian  age  the  story  of  the  Church's 
humlanizing  influence  on  society  and  State?  We  have  many 
who  tell  the  story  of  the  Church's  sociological  failures,  but 

308 


THE  LARGER  OUTLOOK. 

who  will  write  for  us  the  story  of  her  sociological  successes 
through  her  own  activities  or  through  the  individuals  and 
organizations  whom  she  inspires  and  supports?  The  Chris- 
tians of  the  early  days  wrote  the  creeds  according  to  the 
measure  of  their  philosophical,  scientific,  and  spiritual  lights, 
but  who  will  re-write  them  in  the  light  of  the  truer  philosophy, 
the  saner  science,  and  the  deeper  spirituality  of  to-day  ?  The 
gift  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  who  guides  into  all  truth,  is  not  for 
the  scholar  of  the  first  century  alone.  I  believe  in  the  Holy 
Ghost,  living,  reigning,  guiding,  and  inspiring  the  hearts  and 
minds  of  men,  and  in  the  councils  of  the  Church,  to-day ! 
Christian  literature  will  be  spacious  and«feroad  as  Chris- 
tianity itself.  When  Keats  after  his  first  reading  of  Chap- 
man's Homer  wrote: 

Then  felt  I  like  some  watcher  of  the  skies 
When  a  new  planet  swims  into  his  ken, 

he  was  indicating  for  all  time  one  of  the  high  qualities  of 
Christian  literature.  It  at  once  puts  one  in  a  broad  and 
spacious  world.  And  religion  needs  just  such  a  setting.  Too 
frequently  Christianity,  or  the  expression  of  it,  has  degen- 
erated into  erraticism  or  fanaticism.  Men  have  mistaken  their 
own  narrow  and  limited  notions  of  the  faith  for  the  faith 
itself,  and  have  sought,  not  always  in  vain,  to  impose  meager 
and  limited  ideas  and  ideals  upon  the  Church  of  God.  Even 
as  in  Paul's  day  we  have  with  us  well-meaning  and  right- 
eous men  who  have  no  comprehensive  conception  of  the  length 
and  breadth,  the  height  and  depth  of  Christianity.  It  is 
worth  remembering  that  Paul  did  not  give  place  to  such, 
by  way  of  subjection,  not  even  for  an  hour.  He  stood  faith- 
fully and  fearlessly  for  a  broad  and  liberal  interpretation  of 
the  sweep  and  place  and  power  of  Christianity.  "We  still  need 
men  with  the  deep  spirituality,  the  ample  intellectual  out- 
look and  the  strong  grip  upon  the  fundamentals  of  the  faith 
that  were  characteristic  of  the  great  apostle  to  the  Gentiles. 
Such  literature  as  we  have  in  mind  will  not  think  it  necessary 

309 


MILITANT  METHODISM. 

to  steady  the  ark — God  always  sees  to  that.  It  will  make 
for  balance,  sanity  and  breadth,  and  will  give  to  the  adherents 
of  Christianity  the  spiritual  vitality,  the  intellectual  spacious- 
ness, and  the  broad  tolerance  of  the  Son  of  man,  who  is  also 
the  Son  of  God. 

Such  a  literature  will  surely  dispel  the  idea  that  culture 
and  piety  are  inconsistent  or  mutually  exclusive  virtues.  The 
Christian  literature  of  to-morrow  will  unite  these  virtues, 
too  long  separated,  in  holy  and  indissoluble  bonds.  There 
is  no  greater  crime  against  the  inner  life,  and  the  outer  ex- 
pansion of  our  Methodism,  than  is  committed  by  those  who 
speak  and  write  as  though  intellectuality  were  antagonistic  to 
spirituality,  and  who  imply  that  ignorance  is  the  best  tool 
for  the  Holy  Spirit's  use.  Note  the  addresses  and  articles 
in  which  the  assumption  is  made  that  the  scholarly  man  can 
not  be  deeply  or  thoroughly  evangelistic ;  listen  to  the  appeals 
which  practically  suggest  that  the  only  need  is  the  Holy 
Spirit  and  which  by  implication  disparage  the  training  and 
the  culture  of  the  schools.  The  Holy  Spirit  is  absolutely  sine 
qua  non.  But  are  the  operations  and  influences  and  gifts  of 
the  Holy  Spirit  given  chiefly  to  the  superficial  and  untrained 
thinker?  Other  things  being  equal,  is  it  not  true  that  the 
Holy  Spirit  can  make  best  use  of  the  carefully  trained  and 
well  furnished  mind?  In  these  days  when  we  are  admitting 
into  our  ministry  men  who  have  not  even  had  a  high  school 
education  it  is  no  time  for  Methodism  to  disparage  the  need 
of  intellectual  training.  Intellectual  virility  and  Spirit  bap- 
tism are  not  antagonistic,  they  are  complementary.  Lack- 
ing either,  the  Christian  is  weak.  Possessing  both,  he  is 
strong — a  workman  that  needeth  not  to  be  ashamed.  The 
most  efficient  Christian  workers  of  the  ages  have  been  men 
of  the  highest  culture;  culture  that  received  its  inspiration 
from  and  was  under  the  control  and  the  guidance  of  God's 
Holy  Spirit.  One  has  only  to  think  of  Paul,  chosen  of  God 
because  he  had  the  necessary  intellectual,  mcral  and  spiritual 
furnishing;  of  Augustine,  Luther,  Wesley,  Brooks,  and  hosts 

310 


THE* LARGER  OUTLOOK. 

of  others;  to  see  how  shallow  is  the  thought  and  how  hurtful 
the  speech  that  would  antagonize  these  complementary  and 
essential  qualities.  Christianity  is  as  deep  as  life,  as  charitable 
as  God,  as  lasting  as  eternity.  The  Christian  literature  of 
to-morrow  will  be  kin  to  Christianity.  Methodism,  thank  God, 
is  not  a  small,  meager,  narrow  segment  of  Christianity.  It 
partakes  the  essential  nature  of  the  Faith.  To  create  a  litera- 
ture that  shall  be  worthy  of  Christianity  as  expressed  through 
Methodism  is  no  light  task.  It  is,  however,  a  task  to  which 
God  calls  our  beloved  Church,  and  with  His  help  the  Church 
will  meet  the  Divine  expectancy. 

With  leaders  trained  in  our  schools  and  coming  forth  to 
their  tasks  with  the  understanding  that  the  literary  realm 
is  to  be  claimed,  captured  and  conquered  for  Christ;  in- 
spired with  the  purpose  to  make  the  periodical  and  permanent 
literature  of  the  world  an  arm  of  power  for  the  Church; 
translating  the  essential  and  eternal  principles  of  the  Faith 
into  the  language  of  to-day;  interpreting  Christianity  after 
the  fashion  and  speech  of  the  Christ,  and  in  His  spirit,  rather 
than  in  terms  of  narrow  dogma;  holding  ever  the  highest 
possible  human  culture  under  the  illumination,  guidance  and 
control  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  who  still  guides  the  Christian 
scholar  in  the  pathway  of  truth,  there  can  be  no  possible  ques- 
tion as  to  the  outcome!  Watchman,  What  of  the  night? 
Answer — The  Morning  Cometh! 

The  Larger  Outlook  for  the  Retired  Ministry. 

J.    B.    HlNGELEY. 

THE  reason  why  this  question,  which  has  been  before  the 
Church  for  more  than  a  century,  is  still  a  live  question 
was  illustrated  by  the  meeting  this  morning.  Conquering 
Methodism  always  has  a  program  of  conquest  and  woe  to  the 
wounded,  the  aged,  and  the  fatherless  when  a  campaign  is  on 
or  a  battle  is  pending.  Programs  and  speeches,  and  appeals 
for  them  must  give  way  to  the  cry  for  action.  The  whole  task 

311 


MILITANT  METHODISM. 

of  the  Church  will  not  be  accomplished  until  the  retired  min- 
isters and  the  widows  and  dependent  orphans  of  deceased 
ministers  have  been  accounted  for.  I  will  present  to  you  the 
size  and  character  of  the  problem  and  the  conditions  under 
which  it  is  to  be  met,  while  a  great-hearted  layman,  Mr. 
Marvin  Campbell,  the  treasurer  of  the  Board  of  Conference 
Claimants,  will  speak  of  the  laymen's  duty  to  those  who 
brought  Methodism  to  them. 

The  proposition  of  properly  providing  for  the  Conference 
Claimants  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  is  one  which, 
not  only  because  of  its  great  importance,  but  because  of  the 
size  of  the  problem,  may  well  demand  the  most  earnest  con- 
sideration, and  if  it  is  ever  solved  all  the  forces  available  for 
its  solution  must  be  utilized.  In  round  numbers  there  are 
3,000  retired  preachers  and  3,000  widows  of  deceased  preach- 
ers and  600  dependent  orphan  children  of  deceased  ministers. 
All  these  are  Conference  Claimants  according  to  the  Discipline 
of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  and  even  a  modest,  rea- 
sonable provision  for  their  care  demands  an  annual  distribu- 
tion of  no  less  than  a  million  and  a  half  dollars.  The  problem 
of  the  Church  is  to  secure  this  million  and  a  half  dollars. 

Full  reports  as  to  what  is  being  done  in  the  several  Con- 
ferences are  published  annually  by  the  Board  of  Conference 
Claimants.  I  think  you  will  recognize  the  limitations  of  the 
present  provisions  for  the  support  of  Conference  Claimants 
when  you  realize  that  out  of  the  6,600  Claimants  there  is 
only  one  who  receives  $700,  and  but  four  who  receive  more 
than  $500,  and  in  all  there  are  less  than  300  who  receive  as 
much  as  $300,  one  in  every  fifteen.  On  the  other  hand,  there 
are  4,400  Claimants,  more  than  two-thirds  of  the  total,  who 
receive  less  than  $200.  One-third  of  the  total  number  receive 
less  than  $100.  One  hundred  who  receive  less  than  $50. 
Hence  while  we  felicitate  ourselves  on  the  fact  that  the 
amount  distributed  has  almost  doubled  during  the  last  five 
years,  yet  we  are  very  far  from  a  reasonable  solution  of  the 
problem. 

312 


THE  LARGER  OUTLOOK. 

But  the  atmosphere  is  good.  Ten  years  ago  it  seemjed 
necessary  to  explain  the  duty  of  providing  for  or  pensioning 
Retired  Ministers.  To-day  the  world  challenges  the  Church 
because  of  its  indifference  in  this  matter  and  the  Church  is 
placed  on  the  defensive.  The  question  it  must  answer  is  not 
why  should  we  pension  veteran  ministers,  but  why  don't  we 
more  liberally  pension  them?  Last  month's  report  of  Rock 
Island  Railroad  employees'  pensions  shows  retired  engineers 
receiving  more  than  $700,  a  larger  amount  than  is  received 
by  any  retired  minister  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church; 
and  shows  railroad  conductors  and  firemen^receiving  $400, 
while  there  are  not  one  hundred  retired  preachers  receiving 
as  much ;  and  shows  retired  helpers,  laborers,  hostlers,  section 
mien,  crossing  men,  etc.,  receiving  $240,  while  there  are  not 
five  hundred  retired  Methodist  preachers  who  receive  so  large 
an  amount.  In  all  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad  has  distributed 
more  than  nine  million  dollars  to  its  aged,  sick,  and  disabled 
employees. 

The  sources  of  our  receipts  are  as  follows: 

(1)  Our  largest  asset  is  the  amount  directly  contributed 
by  the  Churches  for  annual  distribution,  which  amounts  to 
almost  a  half  a  million  dollars.    The  Church  is  increasing  its 
apportionment  for  this  purpose  at  the  rate  of  about  $30,000 
a  year.    But  there  must  be  an  apportionment  of  one  million 
dollars  to  be  raised  directly  by  the  Churches  each  year  for 
annual  distribution.     Annual  Conferences  must  assert  them- 
selves here.     They  accept  largely  increased  apportionments 
made  for  them  by  others  for  benevolences  and  for  the  Epis- 
copal Fund.     They  must  themselves  increase  the  apportion- 
ment for  their  brethren  until  there  is  sufficient  to  meet  every 
claim'. 

(2)  The  second  large  asset  is  the  Dividend  of  the  Book 
Concern,  now  $250.000  a  year,  but  which  easily  can  be  in- 
creased $100,000  next  year. 

(3)  The  income  from  Annual  Conference  Investments — 
that  is,  moneys  held  by  Annual  Conferences  under  different 

313 


MILITANT  METHODISM. 

organizations,  the  interest  of  which  is  annually  applied  to 
Conference  Claimants,  increasing  each  year.  The  amount  so 
invested  is  now  about  $4,000,000,  and  the  General  Conference 
has  asked  for  an  increase  of  $5,000,000  before  1916. 

(4)  The  Chartered  Fund  is  the  oldest  institution  of  the 
Church  and  has  been  paying  a  small  dividend  to  Annual  Con- 
ferences within  the  United  States  for  one  hundred  and  twenty- 
five  years. 

(5)  The  Board  of  Conference  Claimants,  organized  in 
1908,  whose  highest  usefulness  has  been  indirectly  exerted  on 
the  Annual  Conferences  and  by  spreading  information  and  in 
exalting  the  standard  of  support  set  by  the  Discipline  has  had 
a  brief  but  eventful  history.    Since  its  organization  the  annual 
distribution  throughout  the  Church  from  all  sources  has  in- 
creased from  $600,000  to  $1,100,000,  an  increase  of  more  than 
$100,000  each  year,  and  last  year  in  round  numbers  was  one 
million  one  hundred  thousand  dollars.    Thank  God !    During 
the  last  four  years  our  Conference  Claimants  have  received 
$800,000  more  than  during  any  previous  half  decade.     In- 
cidental to  its  larger  inspirational  work,  the  Board  has  paid 
its  own  way  and  has  returned  to  the  Annual  Conferences 
for  necessitous  cases  $115,000,  and  now  has  in  its  treasury 
$25,000  awaiting  distribution  during  1914,  making  a  total  of 
$140,000  added  to  the  distribution  given  in  every  instance  to 
necessitous  cases — that  is,  to  those  in  any  Conference  whose 
needs  are  in  excess  of  the  amount  that  can  be  provided  by  the 
Annual  Conference  itself. 

But  the  greatest  task  set  before  the  Board  of  Conference 
Claimants  to-day  is  that  of  leading  the  Church  toward  the 
completion  of  the  Sesqui-Centennial  Jubilee  Gift  of  Five  Mil- 
lion Dollars  for  Conference  Claimants,  asked  by  the  General 
Conference.  This  Five  Million  Dollars  includes  not  only 
amounts  placed  at  the  disposal  of  the  Board,  but  also  funds 
in  Annual  Conferences  and  Preachers'  Aid  Societies.  These 
are  funds  for  perpetual  investment,  the  income  only  to  be  used 
from  year  to  year.  Of  this  Five  Million  Dollars,  One  Million 

314 


THE  LARGER  OUTLOOK. 

Dollars  is  asked  for  the  Connectional  or  General  Permanent 
Fund  of  the  Board  of  Conference  Claimants,  the  income  to- 
gether with  its  other  resources  to  be  distributed  to  the  Annual 
Conferences  to  help  needy  cases.  The  Board  already  has 
$200,000  so  invested  and  is  seeking  from  all  who  love  the  old 
preachers  gifts  for  this  holy  purpose.  God  gird  the  Church 
for  this  task! 

MARVIN  CAMPBELL. 

As  a  layman  I  approach  the  most  important  interest  of 
the  organic  Church,  its  preachers.  For  etiery  five  effectives 
there  is  one  superannuate  and  about  the  same  number  of 
widows.  The  interest  of  the  five-  effectives  is  so  closely  allied  to 
the  two  claimants  as  to  be  almost  inseparable.  I  shall  devote 
my  time  wholly  to  the  claimants  and  to  you.  I  want  you  con- 
vinced that  the  superannuate  should  and  can  have  full  Dis- 
ciplinary allowance.  But  you  say  you  are  convinced.  Permit 
me  to  say  that  if  you,  this  body  of  men,  were  convinced  that 
he  should,  and  can  have,  the  full  allowance,  then  he  would 
have  it.  Not  about  sixty  per  cent  as  now.  I  trust  you  catch 
the  logic  as  well  as  the  compliment  to  your  ability  to  do  and 
to  have  done. 

A  very  few  facts,  if  not  forgotten  or  neglected,  will  give 
the  superannuate  his  full  allowance.  Responsibility  rests 
almost  wholly  with  or  within  the  Annual  Conferences.  In 
providing  for  claimants,  each  Annual  Conference  is  a  little 
dominion  of  its  own  with  autocratic  power.  Each  Annual 
Conference  determines  who  are  its  claimants.  It  fixes  its  own 
rules  or  conditions  as  to  retirement.  It  may  assess  upon  its 
Churches  any  amount  it  deems  necessary.  These  are  powers 
that  apply  to  no  other  interest  or  ward  of  the  Church.  If 
the  claimant  is  not  fully  paid,  responsibility  rests  almost 
wholly  with  his  Annual  Conference.  Take  that  one  fact  home 
with  you,  and  he  will  be  paid.  Another  compliment  to  your 
ability  to  do  and  to  have  done.  The  one.  superannuate  and  the 
one  widow  are  as  surely  entitled  to  payment  as  are  the  five 

315 


MILITANT  METHODISM. 

effectives.  There  is  no  higher  duty  than  the  honest  payment 
of  honest  debts.  The  disciplinary  allotment  to  the  claimant  is 
a  debt,  a  debt  for  ministerial  support.  We  have  no  religious 
right,  no  honest  right,  to  refuse  payment  unless  from  abso- 
lute inability.  We  have  the  ability  both  as  to  wealth  and 
liberality.  We  have  not  yet  demonstrated  ability  as  to  or- 
ganized and  systemized  method.  It  is,  however,  both  fair  and 
gratifying  to  say  that  we  are  in  better,  much  better  condition 
than  four  years  ago. 

The  law  gives  the  superannuate  more  consideration  than 
the  effective,  but  he  does  not  get  more  consideration.  The 
Annual  Conference  can  assess  upon  its  Churches  whatever 
amount  it  will  for  the  superannuate;  it  can  not  fix  or  sug- 
gest any  amount  for  the  effective.  He  must  take  his  chances 
with  his  Quarterly  Conference.  Our  Discipline  does  not  well 
define  conditions  that  entitle  to  annuity.  It  should.  Until 
then  each  Annual  Conference  should  establish  clean-cut  rules. 
The  option  to  distribute,  based  upon  service  or  necessity, 
could  not  be  justified  if  all  were  entitled  to  years-of-service- 
annuity,  for  to  take  from  those  who  have  met  annuity  con- 
ditions would  be  unjust.  It  would  create  deplorable  uncer- 
tainty as  to  annuity,  no  matter  how  faithful  or  how  long 
the  service.  I  repeat  there  should  be  well-defined  conditions 
as  to  annuity  and  then  rigidly  observed.  Each  necessitous 
case  must  be  passed  upon  as  an  individual,  but  it  should 
not  be  met  by  taking  from  the  entitled  annuitant.  Annuities 
paid  are  for  ministerial  support.  Necessitous  payments  are 
in  spirit  and  fact  benevolences,  commendable,  but  nevertheless 
in  spirit  benevolences.  The  annuitant  should  not  be  taxed 
for  benevolences;  they  should  be  met  from  other  sources. 
The  spirit  of  annuity  is  not  reward  for  having  been  a  preacher, 
but  for  having  continued  a  preacher  until  unfitted  for  the 
itinerant  service. 

Can  the  annuitant  be  paid  in  full '/  Well,  can  we  do  what 
others  have  done,  what  others  are  doing?  The  Methodist 
Church  of  Canada,  the  United  Methodist  Church  of  England, 

316 


THE  LARGER  OUTLOOK. 

the  "Wesleyan  Methodist  Church  of  England,  the  Australian 
Methodist  Church,  all  do  pay  their  Conference  Claimants  full 
annuity,  and  have  paid  for  many  years.  There  is  absolutely 
no  failure.  If  we  are  so  loyal  to  our  Church,  if  we  are  so 
just,  if  we  are  so  capable  in  administrative  ability  as  are  the 
Methodists  of  Canada,  of  England,  of  Australia,  then  full 
annuity  can  be  paid,  for  by  them  it  is  done.  We  must  admit 
indifference  or  imbecility,  or  we  must  grant  that  it  can  be 
done.  Will  you  take  this  home  to  your  Annual  Conference 
and  meet  the  responsibility?  The  Churches  to  which  I  have 
referred  have  well  defined  conditions  as  t&  annuity.  They 
also  have  a  necessitous  fund,  but  it  is  not  created  by  taking 
from  the  annuitant.  The  314  superannuates  of  the  Methodist 
Church  of  Canada  average  thirty-four  years  of  service.  Somie, 
perhaps  many  of  our  Annual  Conferences  average  twenty- 
four  years.  With  them  no  man  retires  upon  an  annuity  with 
less  than  forty  years'  service  unless  unfitted  for  itinerant 
work.  Let  me  repeat,  payment  can  not  be  made  to  the  one 
not  entitled  except  to  take  from  those  who  are  entitled.  What 
'stronger  call  for  systematic  method  ? 

Indiana  Methodists  will  illustrate  the  average.  They  are 
listed  as  paying  annual  grand  total,  $400,000,  for  various 
benevolences.  Shortage  due  claimants,  $23,000,  about  35 
per  cent  deficit.  A  membership  that  pays  $400,000  in  various 
and  some  of  the  remote  benevolences  can  and  will  pay  the 
$23,000  debt  if  brought  to  their  notice  with  anything  like  the 
insistence  or  system  of  the  secular  world.  I  question  the 
religious  right  to  pay  the  $400,000  until  the  $23,000  debt  is 
paid,  but  all  can  be  paid. 

Let  me  make  one  practical,  concrete  suggestion  which  is  by 
far  the  most  important  thing  I  have  to  say ;  i.  e.,  Have  a  Lay- 
men's Aid  Society  or,  what  is  more  practicable,  broaden  the 
scope  of  your  Preachers'  Aid  Society,  and  especially  of  its 
Field  Agent.  Give  him  not  only  the  power  to  solicit  endow- 
ments, but  to  raise  a  current  budget1  to  meet  the  entire 
claimants'  deficit  that  is  not  met  by  assessment.  He  will 

317 


MILITANT  METHODISM. 

easily  find  ways  to  prevent  any  annual  deficit  and  yet  be 
more  efficient  as  to  endowments.  A  single  example  will  illus- 
trate what  I  mean.  I  am  told  of  a  Methodist  much  interested 
in  claimants,  who  pays  for  various  benevolences  more  than 
$1,000  per  year  and  for  claimants  $5.30  per  year.  He  pays 
more  than  $5.30  to  the  Humane  Society.  He  pays  the  various 
benevolences  because  brought  to  his  notice  by  earnest  field 
agents.  He  pays  the  $5.30  for  claimants  as  his  ratio  share 
to  the  budget  of  his  Church.  Nobody  asks  him  to  pay  more. 
He  would  undoubtedly  pay  liberally  if  asked.  There  are  hun- 
dreds of  such  cases,  men  able  to  give,  ready  to  give.  In  some 
degree  the  Church  is  full  of  such  examples.  Place  upon  your 
Field  Agent  the  double  power,  the  double  duty,  of  securing 
a  present  budget  for  the  deficit  as  well  as  securing  endow- 
ment, and  your  problem  is  solved.  In  every  Quarterly  Con- 
ference there  should  be  a  claimants'  steward  to  co-operate 
with  the  field  agent.  A  claimants'  steward  is  even  more 
logical  than  a  district  steward.  The  records  show  thirteen 
times  as  many  claimants  as  district  superintendents.  Why  not 
a  steward  to  look  after  the  thirteen  decrepit,  as  well  as  a 
steward  to  look  after  the  one  effective?  All  are  in  the  same 
class,  all  upon  the  same  payroll,  ministerial  support. 

Endowment  is  needed,  but  don't  depend  upon  endow- 
ment's income;  it  will  be  many,  very  many  years  before  this 
will  be  sufficient.  The  claimant  must  be  provided  for  by 
the  budget  plan  as  surely  as  must  the  effective,  and  a  part 
of  it  at  least  must  be  upon  the  ability-to-pay  plan,  just  as 
the  effectives'  salary  is  raised  upon  the  ability-to-give  plan. 
A  flat  assessment  upon  all  the  Churches  of  the  Conference  is 
in  part  right,  but  the  whole  amount  can  not  be  had  in  this 
way,  some  poor  Churches  can  not  give  any  more.  Wills  and 
after  death  bonds  are  desirable,  very  desirable,  but  don't 
neglect  your  righteous  poor  while  waiting  for  the  death  of 
your  godly  rich. 

In  conclusion:  We  do  not  lack  money,  we  do  not  lack 
loyalty  to  the  Church,  we  do  not  lack  solicitude  for  the 

338 


THE  LARGER  OUTLOOK. 

superannuate,  but  we  do  lack  method.  I  repeat  it,  we  lack 
method.  Will  you  take  that  fact  home  to  your  Annual  Con- 
ference with  its  autocratic  power  and  establish  method? 

The  Larger  Outlook  for  Deaconess  Work. 
D.  W.  HOWELL. 

THE  work  of  the  Deaconess  I  will  present  to  you  in  the  form 
of  a  story.  While  one  person  tells  the  tale,  it  must  be  re- 
membered that  the  details  have  been  gathered  from  many 
parts  and  recounts  the  service  of  many  workers. 

In  the  doorway  of  her  home  a  young  lady  stood  and 
watched  the  setting  sun  and  meditated  upon  her  own  future. 
Deep  down  in  the  secret  chamber  there  was  a  desire  to  make 
her  life  worth  while,  and  to  her  such  a  life  must  be  religious. 
The  June  previous  she  had  graduated  from  college,  and  now 
she  must  plan  for  her  future.  In  response  to  inquiry  her 
pastor  presented  nearly  every  Held  for  woman's  service,  but 
she  could  not  decide.  It  must  be  confessed  that  in  her  senior 
year  she  had  read  a  booklet  on  ''A  Deaconess  and  Her  Work," 
and  she  could  not  get  away  from  its  insistent  call.  Almost 
against  her  will  she  consented  to  go  to  a  training  school. 
She  was  as  much  interested  in  learning  about  the  Deaconess 
"Movement  as  in  preparing  her  lessons  in  the  Courses  of  Study. 
She  found  that  it  was  nearly  two  thousand  years  since- the 
Deaconess  was  recognized  as  a  part  of  the  organized  body  of 
Christ's  followers.  With  the  founding  of  the  Apostolic 
Church  these  consecrated  women  began  their  work  of  min- 
istry to  the  lowly  and  the  needy.  It  was  the  keen  eye  of  the 
Galilean  Peasant  that  discerned  the  undeveloped  possibilities 
of  womanhood,  and  it  was  the  Master  who  strove  to  bring  her 
service  into  the  Kingdom  He  came  to  establish. 

She  followed  its  history  and  use  and  disuse  through  the 
centuries.  She  marked  its  beginnings  in  our  Church  in  the 
early  eighties.  She  watched  it  grow  until  every  part  of  the 
nation  felt  its  power.  She  beheld  its  material  achievements 

319 


MILITANT  METHODISM. 

until  in  one  city  alone  she  saw  property  valued  at  $1,500,000. 
Beyond  all  these  she  felt  that  the  movement  magnified  genuine 
womanhood.  It  seemed  to  offer  an  opportunity  to  do  a 
woman's  work,  in  a  woman's  way,  through  a  woman's  af- 
fection. In  it,  as  a  woman,  she  could  glorify  God.  Two 
years  quickly  passed.  With  her  diploma  in  her  hand  she 
stood  aghast  before  the  many  open  doors.  She  never  dreamed 
the  Deaconess  Movement  had  so  many  different  fields  of 
service:  Parish  Workers,  Settlements,  Slums,  Baby  Folds, 
Industrial  Schools,  Hospitals,  Travelers'  Aid,  and  many  more. 
It  was  the  end  of  the  year;  prepared  with  all  proper  cre- 
dentials, she  attended  the  Annual  Conference.  There  she  was 
consecrated  a  Deaconess  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church. 
Then  it  was- that  her  real  life  service  began.  Here  is  her  story: 

"My  first  appointment  was  to  a  Baby  Fold.  I  was  given 
charge  of  children  between  two  and  three  years  old.  I  had 
five  to  wash  and  dress  and  amuse.  After  awhile  a  sixth  was 
brought  to  me,  a  boy  just  past  two.  He  was  so  thin  that  I 
pitied  him.  When  I  heard  of  the  inhuman  treatment  he  had 
received  I  loved  him.  I  remember  one  day  I  took  him  for  a 
ride.  He  ran  from  the  house  with  me  but  stopped  at  the  curb, 
and  looking  up  at  the  driver  of  the  automobile  said,  'Will  you 
bring  me  back?'  He  must  have  recalled  his  old  home.  How 
that  boy  got  into  my  heart  and  how  I  longed  that  he  might 
grow  up  to  love  my  Christ ! 

"From  that  home  I  was  moved  to  another  part  of  the  coun- 
try and  given  charge  of  an  Italian  Mission  for  girls.  One 
day  as  I  was  walking  along  one  of  the  streets  near  my  Mis- 
sion, a  dirty  face  looked  up  at  me  and  I  recognized  one  of  my 
girls;  her  every-day  dress  not  a  bit  like  the  one  she  wore 
on  Sunday.  She  put  her  arm  around  me  and  smiled.  We 
walked  arm  in  arm  for  some  distance  and  discovered  that  the 
child  of  an  Italian  loved  just  like  other  children.  I  worked 
with  and  for  those  girls.  I  wanted  them  to  know  my  Savior. 
Some  of  them  became  Christians.  Again  I  changed  and  went 
almost  across  the  continent.  I  became  a  parish  worker.  A 

320 


THE  LARGER  OUTLOOK. 

small  class  of  boys  was  given  me.  Soon  we  had  ten,  and  then 
twenty.  In  my  first  year  in  that  Church  ninety  different 
names  were  on  my  roll.  At  the  end  of  the  year  seventy  was 
the  record.  Then  I  was  glad  that  I  had  studied  psychology 
and  pedagogy.  Those  boys  were  at  that  age  when  they  know 
everything.  How  I  studied  them!  I  won  them.  When  the 
year  closed  every  boy  of  the  ninety  save  fifteen  had  given  his 
heart  and  his  life  to  my  Lord,  and  the  Church  had  seventy- 
five  new  members.  I  desired  to  remain  in  that  Church,  but 
like  the  Israelites  I  was  comftnanded  to  journey  through  the 
wilderness.  My  new  work  was  in  an  Italian  Mission.  In  that 
building  came  men  and  women,  boys  and  girls.  Among  other 
lines  of  work  I  organized  a  club  of  boys.  I  found  a  man  to 
help  me.  The  club  had  a  name,  secret  to  all  but  members. 
The  letters  of  that  cabalistic  name  were  blazoned  upon  a 
banner.  One  meeting  was  held,  when  I  realized  that  the  boya 
were  more  than  both  of  us  could  manage.  Instead  of  psycho- 
logical and  pedagogical  methods,  I  had  to  call  in  a  policeman. 
This  gentleman  with  a  uniform!  awed  them.  Gradually  they 
changed,  and  in  a  little  more  than  one  year  from  the  day  of 
organization  five  of  the  nine  stood  before  the  altar  of  the. 
Church,  were  given  the  right  hand  of  fellowship  and  welcomed 
into  the  Church  militant.  I  trusted  the  boys  so  completely 
that  when  I  attended  the  Annual  Conference  I  left  them  in 
charge  of  the  Mission.  It  was  hard  to  leave  my  Christian 
boys,  but  another  change  found  me  working  as  matron  of  a 
Home  for  working  girls.  Twenty-one  girls  were  in  my  care, 
and  I  felt  the  responsibility  of  guiding  them  through  the  deli- 
cate and  dangerous  years  of  their  youth.  If  I  ever  prayed  it 
was  at  that  time.  Soon  I  grew  fond  of  them,  and  our  home 
was  so  much  a  true  home  that  they  called  me  mother.  One 
night  I  noticed  one  of  the  girls  looked  worried,  but  I  could 
not  make  her  tell  me  her  troubles.  It  was  but  a  few  days  when 
she  came  to  me  and  threw  her  arms  about  my  neck  and  with 
her  head  on  my  shoulder  cried,  'I  can't  stand  it.'  It  was 
some  time  before  I  could  get  her  to  tell  her  story.  Hesitatingly 
21  321 


MILITANT  METHODISM. 

she  told  the  tale  of  her  temptation  and  her  victory.  I  called 
the  president  of  our  Deaconess  Board.  He  went  right  to  the 
head  of  the  corporation.  When  the  facts  were  proven  a  man 
was  without  a  place.  When  I  heard  that  the  man  had  been 
discharged  I  was  troubled.  I  was  only  a  woman  and  I  won- 
dered if  he  had  a  wife  and  children.  I  found  that  his  wife 
was  heartbroken.  I  went  right  to  the  man  who  had  dis- 
charged him.  He  was  surprised  to  see  and  hear  me  plead 
for  the  sinner.  He  said  to  me,  'Come  here  to-morrow  at 
ten.'  I  was  there,  as  was  also  the  man  who  was  discharged. 
This  hard-hearted  head  of  a  corporation  had  secured  a  job 
for  him  in  a  factory  where  only  men  where  employed. 

"My  next  move  found  me  a  Superintendent  of  a  Bee-hive 
of  Industry.  Nearly  every  type  of  work  was  in  operation. 
Hard  and  unusual  names  continually  came  to  my  ears.  In 
this  metropolis  I  taught  in  an  Industrial* Class  at  one  time 
eighteen  different  nationalities.  While  here  a  new  phase  of 
service  came  into  my  life.  Here  is  a  picture  of  my  weekly 
Bible  class  of  criminals.  They  meet  in  this  room,  and  about 
this  long  table  you  see  in  the  picture.  Do  you  know  that 
every  man  has  his  bad  record  ?  This  man  served  a  term  in  a 
penitentiary ;  yonder  man  with  a  good  face  was  a  wife  beater. 
I  would  not  have  believed  it  myself.  When  he  was  drinking 
he  was  a  demon.  Do  you  know  that  at  one  time  he  had 
turned  his  wife  out  of  doors  in  the  winter  time.  He  seemed  to 
enjoy  the  sufferings  of  his  children.  But  don't  be  too  hard 
in  your  judgment.  When  he  was  sober  he  was  gentle  as  a 
woman  and  as  kind  as  any  Christian.  It  was  my  joy,  week 
after  week,  to  trace  that  company  of  Christian  men.  I  for- 
got all  their  past  lives.  They  were  God's  children  and  co- 
workers  with  me  in  bringing  other  men  to  the  saving  power 
of  Christ. 

"The  big  field  in  a  great  city  so  drew  on  my  strength  that 
I  was  compelled  to  leave.  It  was  a  sad  day  for  me  when  I 
bade  good-bye  to  slums  and  haunts  of  sin  and  shame.  I  was 
sent  to  a  small  hospital  among  the  mountains.  Everywhere 

322 


THE  LARGER  OUTLOOK. 

I  heard  talk  of  'The  Hills,'  the  lofty  peaks  lifted  their 
crested  head  toward  the  sky  and  I  began  to  find  out  what  was 
meant  by  the  lure  of  the  mountains.  One  day  there  came  for 
treatment  a  man  from  'The  Hills;'  we  all  looked  at  him 
with  his  rugged  frame,  bushy  hair,  and  shaggy  beard.  He 
looked  so  much  like  a  bear  that  we  all  called  him  the  'Bear.' 
One  day  a  boy  brought  in  a  basket  full  of  flowers  called 
anemone.  I  arranged  a  dish  for  our  Bear ;  the  nurse  took  it 
to  his  room.  She  was  busy  about  her  work  and  forgot  all 
about  the  flowers.  She  heard  an  unusual  sound  and,  turning 
around,  saw  the  man's  face  bedded  in  the^flowers.  I  was 
called,  and  I  stood  in  the  doorway  for  several  minutes.  When 
he  lifted  his  head,  tears  were  running  down  his  face.  He 
looked  at  me  and  said,  '  No  one  has  been  kind  to  me  in  years. ' 
I  went  to  his  bedside,  took  his  hand  in  mine,  and  stroked  it 
gently.  He  cried  as  I  had  never  heard  a  man  cry  before  that 
time.  I  was  frightened  lest  it  might  injure  him.  From  that 
day  we  talked  more  about  the  kind  Christ.  My  'Bear'  be- 
came as  gentle  as  a  child.  He  would  sit  and  spell  out  the 
words  in  a  Bible  with  big  type.  When  he  went  back  to 
'The  Hills'  he  went  singing  of  the  Redeemer. 

' '  The  years  fairly  chased  each  other,  and  one  day  it  dawned 
on  me  that  my  hair  was  snowy  white  and  that  the  years  were 
beginning  to  work  their  furrows  in  my  face.  I  was  assigned 
to  a  small  training  school  to  guide  young  girls  and  help  them 
by  my  experience." 

Before  I  leave  you,  let  me  say  that  the  outlook  for  the 
Deaconess  Movement  will  be  brighter  if  three  things  are 
brought  to  use. 

First — The  best  young  women  for  our  training  schools. 

The  day  is  past  when  a  girl  can  go  from  the  shop  im- 
mediately to  slum  work.  Too  frequently  it  has  been  tried 
and  too  frequently  disaster  has  been  the  result.  We  want 
our  training  schools  filled,  but  with  the  best  young  women  of 
Methodism. 

Second — More  women  for  city  redemption. 

323 


MILITANT  METHODISM. 

I  believe  in  the  social  regeneration  of  society  as  firmly  as 
any  man,  but  I  also  believe  that  the  permanent  upbuilding  of 
our  great  cities  must  be  through  the  transformation  of  the 
individual  into  a  child  of  the  Kingdom. 

Third — Recognize  the  power  of  womanhood,  in  the  evan- 
gelization of  the  world. 

You  know  that  the  mightiest  power  making  for  righteous- 
ness is  a  genuine  woman.  Every  one  will  bear  me  witness 
that  the  persuasive  love  of  a  woman's  heart  awakens  more 
holy  and  Christlike  impulses  than  any  other  human  influence 
in  all  the  world.  Tell  me,  men  of  the  Convention,  your  plans. 
Do  not,  I  pray  you,  forget  to  use  the  mightiest  power  God  has 
given  you — God-filled,  consecrated  womanhood. 

The  Larger  Outlook  for  the  Church. 

W.  O.  SHEPARD. 

WHAT  I  originally  had  in  mind  to  say  will  not  suit  this  hour. 
We  have  risen  to  such  heights  during  these  great  days  while 
we  have  been  sitting  together  and  thinking  of  world  problems. 
We  have  been  looking  into  the  millennium,  have  been  thinking 
of  the  work  necessary  to  make  our  Church  a  world  force,  an 
army,  a  providential  movement  or  agency  for  the  solution  of 
millennial  problems,  and  a  hush  has  come  over  us  and  we  have 
felt  these  days  that  the  Spirit  was  brooding  over  us  and  com- 
ing nearer  and  nearer  to  us  and  settling  down  upon  us,  and 
the  King  has  been  in  our  midst.  And  if  I  interpret  aright  the 
impressions  of  these  men,  they  have  come  to  a  conviction  that 
we  are  in  the  midst  of  a  new  epoch,  that  an  apocalypse  is 
just  beyond,  and  that  it  behooves  us  to  prepare  for  that 
which  awaits  us  in  the  near  future  years.  We  have  heard 
a  great  deal  about  the  newness  of  Asia,  Japan,  Africa,  South 
America  and  the  Islands  of  the  Sea,  and  we  have  heard  much 
about  the  new  spirit  in  our  institutions,  but  perhaps  we  have 
not  quite  realized  how  new  everything  is  in  our  own  land. 
These  are  the  latter  days  for  us. 

324 


THE  LARGER  OUTLOOK. 

Now,  I  make  this  proposition,  that  the  Church  of  Jesus 
Christ  must  have  a  part  in  this  new  age,  must  keep  up  with 
this  newness,  must  get  the  mighty  stride  of  these  mighty 
times  in  which  we  live.  Three  million  strong,  the  Methodist 
Church,  the  sun  glinting  upon  its  power  twenty-four  hours 
of  every  day,  its  bells  calling  to  never  ceasing  congregations, — 
it  is  too  large  to  be  left  out  in  the  cold.  The  Church  of  Jesus 
Christ  is  too  big  to  be  ignored  in  this  new  day.  It  must 
be  accounted  for  and  m!ust  give  an  account  of  itself.  It  must 
do  so  for  its  own  sake.  A  stone  is  a  stone  in  itself,  of  itself, 
by  itself,  for  itself,  in  its  relation  to  other  stones,  in  the  re- 
lation of  distance  and  direction,  but  a  spirit  can  not  be  a 
spirit  in  itself,  of  itself,  by  itself,  for  itself.  By  its  very 
nature  it  must  have  interrelations.  It  must  go  out  in  love; 
it  must  go  out  in  sympathy.  Is  the  Church  of  Jesus  Christ 
a  thing  or  is  it  a  spirit  or  a  spiritual  organism  to  have  re- 
lation with,  other  spirits  and  other  spiritual  organizations? 
If  it  confines  itself  to  living  a  selfish  life,  it  tends  to  thin 
itself;  loving  its  life  it  shall  lose  it;  loving  statistics  it  will 
soon  be  ashamed  of  statistics ;  loving  its  life  it  will  soon  have 
only  a  name  to  love;  but  if  it  is  unselfish  and  grasps  these 
great  problems,  gets  into  the  midst  of  them,  it  becomes  a 
mighty  force,  and  gives  an  account  of  itself  in  this  startling 
age.  It  must  have  a  part  in  this,  because  the  only  civilization 
which  this  new  movement  in  human  society  will  be  satisfied 
with  must  be  a  Christian  civilization.  We  must  have  the 
Christian  solution  of  our  problems  or  no  one  will  be  satisfied. 
The  world  seems  to  be  tending  toward  brotherhood.  We  hear 
about  brotherhood  everywhere,  and  are  thankful  for  it.  But 
there  can  be  no  brotherhood  which  is  not  based  upon  father- 
hood. Whether  we  hear  the  word  "Brotherhood"  in  capital- 
istic circles  or  Church  circles,  unless  there  is  Fatherhood  of 
God,  brotherhood  is  as  unsubstantial  as  a  castle  in  the  clouds. 
So  the  Christian  solution  of  our  problem  is  the  only  one. 
When  Jesus  said,  "Our  Father,"  when  He  said,  "When  you 
pray,  say,  'Our  Father'  "  He  gave  the  Magna  Charta  to  the 

325 


MILITANT  METHODISM. 

unfortunate,  the  oppressed,  the  poor,  and  bridged  all  chasms 
and  inaugurated  that  civilization  which  is  to  be  when  men  are 
brothers  the  round  world  over. 

And  then  again,  there  can  be  no  solution  of  these 
problems  without  the  Church.  Dr.  Birney  was  right  when 
he  said  that  this  whole  matter  must  be  a  matter  of  life, 
the  personal  element  must  enter  in.  If  we  are  to  ac- 
complish these  matters  with  so  much  upon  our  hearts 
these  days,  there  must  be  two  factors.  There  must  be 
the  ability  to  do  the  work.  That  is  one  factor,  of  course! 
That  goes  without  saying.  But  there  must  be  another  factor. 
There  must  be,  ' '  Woe  is  me  if  I  do  not  do  the  work. ' '  There 
must  be  the  personal  work.  I  am  perfectly  willing  that  science 
should  try  the  solution  of  the  problem  in  Africa.  Perhaps 
if  those  in  the  heart  of  Africa  knew  about  the  parallaxes 
of  the  stars  it  would  do  them  a  lot  of  good ;  if  they  knew  the 
distance  of  the  stars  and  that  the  stars  are  composed  of  the 
same  elements  that  we  find  upon  the  earth,  perhaps  it  would 
do  them  much  good.  I  think  it  would.  And  if  so,  where  is 
the  man  who  says,  "Woe  is  me  if  I  do  not  do  the  work?" 
I  find  no  fault,  but  that  personal  element  is  absolutely  nec- 
essary. It  becomes  therefore  a  matter  for  the  gospel  of  Jesus 
Christ.  A  matter  for  the  missionary  spirit  of  Jesus  Christ, 
the  first  Missionary.  I  am  perfectly  willing  that  any  one 
who  loves  his  philosophy  shall  go  down  to  the  Ganges  and 
tell  that  poor  woman  kneeling  on  its  bank  that  her  soul  is 
the  latent  potentiality  of  matter,  that  she  is  the  result  of  con- 
current forces.  It  might  do  her  a  lot  of  good.  Where  is  the 
wise  man,  where  is  the  scribe,  where  is  the  disputer,  who 
has  said,  ' '  I  am  willing  to  go  to  India  with  such  a  purpose  ? ' ' 
I  am  perfectly  willing  that  one  shall  tell  the  theory  of  evolu- 
tion to  the  islands  of  the  sea.  Perhaps  it  would  do  them,  a 
lot  of  good  if  they  knew  it.  It  might  indeed  do  them  much 
good  to  know  it.  But  if  so,  where  is  the  wise  man,  where  is 
the  scribe,  where  is  the  disputer  of  this  world,  where  is  the 
one  who  says,  "I  am  willing  as  much  as  in  me  lies  to  teach 

326 


THE  LARGER  OUTLOOK. 

my  theory  to  them  that  are  in  the  United  States  and  in  the 
islands  of  the  sea  also?" 

Now  Methodism  must  have  a  part  in  this.  The  history 
of  Methodism  from  the  beginning  has  been  that  the  world  is 
its  parish.  The  genius  of  Methodism  indicates  that  it  must 
have  a  great  part  in  this  if  it  is  to  be  Christianity  in  earnest. 
And  the  fact  that  it  has  made  promises  indicates  its  re- 
sponsibility. Nothing  is  more  despicable  than  for  a  regiment 
to  desert  in  the  midst  of  battle.  And  others  have  gone  into 
the  midst  of  this  great  contest  against  the  forces  of  evil  with 
the  expectation  that  this  division  of  God's  Church  would  do 
its  part;  and  therefore  we  are  under  the  Obligation  of  our 
strength,  of  our  numbers,  of  our  definite  promise.  And  if 
God  is  to  continue  speaking  in  history  and  the  other  de- 
nominations are  to  do  their  part  in  this  great  matter,  we  can 
not  well  s.^e  how  they  can  succeed  without  this  numerically 
largest,  most  enthusiastic,  and  most  widely  flung  branch  of 
the  Christian  army. 

I  stand  before  you  with  great  joy  to  say  this  afternoon 
that  our  Church  has  a  part  in  these  great  movements,  that 
we  are  catching  this  stride,  that  we  are  coming  to  this  vision. 
Something  new  has  come  to  pass  in  recent  years.  There  are 
perhaps  some  who  can  not  see  it  because  of  the  details,  like 
those  who  can  not  see  the  town  for  the  houses,  or  the  woods 
for  the  trees,  but  there  is  a  movement.  Among  our  mission- 
aries, for  example,  they  have  the  vision.  May  I,  to  illus- 
trate what  I  have  in  my  mind  now,  tell  of  some  experiences 
that  came  to  me  when  a  member  of  a  committee  having  to 
examine  candidates  for  the  missionary  field  through  all  this 
Western  country  ?  We  wanted  a  man  to  go  to  a  certain  town 
in  India,  fifty  miles  from  a  railroad.  There  were  just  three 
Americans  in  the  town.  It  is  under  a  tropic  sky,  and  one 
almost  takes  his  life  in  his  hands  who  goes  there.  We  wanted 
a  physician.  A  young  fellow  came  and  could  not  stand  the 
test;  so  with  another.  Finally  a  young  man  stood  before 
us;  he  had  had  a  college  training,  a  medital  school  training, 

327 


MILITANT  METHODISM. 

and  one  year  of  interneship  in  the  hospital.  He  modestly  said 
that  his  income  the  first  year  out  of  school  was  three  thou- 
sand dollars.  After  he  had  stood  every  test  and  answered 
satisfactorily  every  question  that  could  be  put  to  him,  I  looked 
him  in  the  eye  and  said,  "Doctor,  if  you  knew  this  was  the 
very  worst  place  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  had  to  send 
any  man,  would  you  still  want  to  go?"  I  wanted  to  make 
him  uncomfortable  if  I  could.  If  he  could  be  turned  back 
from  going  there,  I  wanted  to  do  it.  No  man  is  fit  to  hold 
the  plow  if  he  can  be  turned  back.  I  thought  I  would  make 
him  uncomfortable,  but  he  made  me  uncomfortable.  He 
looked  at  me  for  fully  thirty  seconds  and  seemed  to  ponder 
the  question  in  every  way,  and  then  he  answered  me  as  calmly 
as  one  man  can  speak  to  another,  "Yes,  sir."  And  he  went. 
I  told  this  story  in  the  chapel  of  a  university,  and  Bishop 
"Warren  was  on  the  platform;  he  said,  "Tell  the  students 
that  since  that  young  man  went  to  India  he  has  been  the  means 
of  the  conversion  of  two  thousand  people." 

And  our  ministers  are  getting  the  stride  just  as  the  mis- 
sionaries. Where  is  higher  criticism  in  this  Convention?  I 
believe  I  am  the  first  man  who  has  spoken  of  it.  Ten  or 
fifteen  years  ago,  if  you  saw  a  dozen  ministers  together  the 
chances  were  that  they  were  talking  about  somfe  phase  of 
higher  criticism;  now  the  chances  are,  nine  out  of  ten,  that 
they  are  talking  about  the  work  of  the  Kingdom  of  God. 
And  our  men  are  not  asking  for  easy  places  in  these  days. 
I  appointed  a  man  to  travel  over  the  burning  sands  of  Ari- 
zona a  year  ago.  The  year  before,  he  traveled,  not  by  auto- 
mobile or  pullrnan,  but  afoot,  three  thousand  miles.  After 
I  gave  him  that  appointment  I  said  to  him,  "You  have  a  hard 
task,"  and  he  said  to  me,  0,  so  modestly,  "I  will  do  better 
this  year."  Soon  after  I  heard  from  him,  and  he  wrote  me, 
"Yesterday  I  traveled  thirty-eight  miles,  and  the  day  before 
thirty  miles."  Mr.  Atkinson,  the  superintendent  of  that 
mission,  wrote  me  some  months  later,  asking  me  to  send  a 
man  to  take  the  place  of  Trevor  Orton,  for  the  zeal  of  the 

328 


THE  LARGER  OUTLOOK. 

Lord's  house  had  consumed  him.  I  went  into  a  town  where 
there  was  a  young  fellow  broken  down  with  typhoid  fever. 
He  had  a  Church  in  a  neighborhood  where  it  is  a  curse  to 
be  born  and  a  boon  to  die,  where  men  and  women  were  steeped 
in  a  worse  than  a  witches'  stew,  and  he  had  broken  down 
under  it.  I  looked  at  him  and  said,  "You  nrast  not  work  too 
hard;  you  have  a  hard  job."  With  tears  in  his  eyes,  he  said: 
"I  like  a  hard  job.  Do  n't  think  of  ever  giving  me  anything 
but  a  hard  job."  Dr.  Jefferson  it  is — is  it  not? — who  says, 
' '  Seest  thou  a  man  who  desires  an  easy  place  ?  There  is  more 
hope  for  the  fool  than  for  him."  On  that  I  have  several  ob- 
servations to  make :  in  the  first  place,  he  wonTget  it.  There  is 
no  easy  place;  and  in  the  second  place,  he  would  be  a  fool 
in  days  like  these.  The  only  difference  in  places  is  that  in 
some  places  a  man  will  be  submerged,  and  in  other  places  he 
can  work. 

We  surely  want  to  have  a  part  in  this  matter.  I  would 
like  to  dwell  upon  the  fact  that  the  laymen  are  waking  up. 
Witness  the  Men  and  Religion  Forward  Movement!  Two 
little  fellows  were  talking  about  it  and  one  of  them  said, 
' '  What  is  it  ? "  Said  the  other, ' '  It  is  some  kind  of  gambling. ' ' 
' '  Nonsense !  Why  do  you  say  that  ? ' '  The  reply  was,  ' '  I  heard 
them  say  they  were  going  to  win  the  world."  I  would  like 
to  dwell  upon  the  fact  that  the  Brotherhood  Movement  is  a 
mighty  movement.  It  is  magnificent  that  men  are  willing 
to  wear  upon  their  bosoms,  not  the  sign  of  a  little  ritualistic 
knowledge,  but  the  badge  of  their  fealty  and  loyalty  to  Jesus 
Christ.  Witness  the  Adult  Bible  Class  movement !  I  was  in 
a  city  in  Illinois  of  sixty-six  thousand  people,  and  twenty-six 
thousand  and  forty  men  walked  the  streets  of  that  city  with 
hands  playing  and  flags  flying,  and  everywhere  the  banner 
of  the  cross  and  on  it  the  words,  "By  this  sign  conquer." 
With  these  movements  on,  we  want  to  have  a  part,  we  must 
have  a  part.  As  we  go  down  to  our  Churches  let  us  get 
down  under  our  loads  and  lift  the  Church,  and  present  it 
without  spot,  without  wrinkle,  without  SAame,  to  our  Christ. 

329 


II.    THE  LARGER  OUTLOOK   FOR   WORLD 
CONQUEST. 


A  United  Church  a  Conquering  Church. 
GEORGE  P.  ECKMAN. 

LORD  MACAULAY  has  presented  a  very  graphic  picture  of  the 
allied  forces  of  the  Duke  of  Maryborough  and  Prince  Eugene 
on  the  eve  of  the  battle  of  Blenheim,  in  1704.  Then  two 
captains,  equal  in  authority  but  differing  in  creed,  prepared 
for  a  battle,  on  the  event  of  which  would  depend  the  liberties 
of  Europe.  The  Duke  of  Marlborough  had  passed  the  greater 
part  of  the  night  in  prayer,  and  just  at  daybreak  received 
the  sacrament  of  the  Lord's  Supper  according  to  the  rites 
of  the  Church  of  England.  He  then  hastened  to  join  Prince 
Eugene,  who  had  probably  just  confessed  to  a  popish  priest. 
The  generals  consulted  together,  forming  their  plans  of  action, 
and  then  repaired  each  to  his  own  post.  Marlborough  gave 
orders  for  public  prayers.  Then  might  have  been  witnessed 
a  strange  spectacle.  The  English  chaplains  read  the  service 
at  the  head  of  the  British  regiments.  The  Dutch  troops 
listened  to  their  Calvinistic  chaplains,  upon  whose  heads  no 
hand  of  bishop  had  been  laid  in  consecration.  The  Danes 
heard  the  supplications  of  their  Lutheran  ministers,  while 
Capuchin  monks  encouraged  the  Austrian  squadrons  and 
prayed  for  the  blessing  of  the  Virgin  upon  the  arms  of  the 
Holy  Roman  Empire.  Then  these  forces,  utterly  diverse  in 
opinions,  but  animated  by  a  single  purpose,  went  bravely  forth 
to  the  field,  and  before  nightfall  had  achieved  a  victory  which 
changed  the  political  complexion  of  Europe. 

Here  is  the  Church  of  the  twentieth  century  split  into  a 
bewildering  diversity  of  sects,  many  of  which  are  engaged  in 

330 


THE  LARGER  OUTLOOK. 

fortifying  systems  instead  of  proclaiming  a  life,  or  striving 
to  bind  fetters  of  dogma  upon  men  rather  than  to  relieve 
them  from  bondage.  Every  one  can  see  that  if  these  divergent 
forces  can  be  cemented  into  an  harmonious  whole,  the  proba- 
bility of  their  conquering  the  world  will  be  vastly  magnified. 
How  shall  they  be  unified?  "It  is  a  simple  matter,"  responds 
the  red-hatted  hierarch  of  Baltimore;  "it  is  only  necessary 
that  all  Christian  people  shall  acknowledge  the  sole  lordship 
of  the  Roman  pontiff,  and  that  every  knee  shall  bend  to  the 
authority  that  sits  upon  the  shore  of  the  Tiber."  "A  very 
simple  matter,"  cries  the  Anglican  communion,  through  its 
representative  denomination  in  the  United^States ;  "let  all 
Christians  acknowledge  the  historic  episcopate,  the  apostolic 
succession;  let  us  vise  your  ordination  parchments,  and  the 
rest  will  be  easy."  "A  very  simple  matter,"  cry  those  little 
sects  which  exalt  system  above  soul,  and  creed  above  conduct ; 
' '  simply  acknowledge  these  principles  for  which  we  have  been 
contending  for  many  years,  and  the  rest  will  be  easy." 

' '  He  that  sitteth  in  the  heavens  shall  laugh,  the  Lord  shall 
hold  them  in  derision. ' '  The  very  angels  of  the  celestial  world 
must  be  amused,  when  they  are  not  annoyed,  by  our  petty 
trifling. 

'See  how  we  grovel  here  below. 
Fond  of  these  earthly  toys." 

"Go  ye  into  all  the  world  and  preach  the  gospel  to  every 
creature. "  It  is  the  command  of  Jesus  Christ.  ' '  Your  march- 
ing orders,"  says  the  Duke  of  Wellington,  "obey  them." 
"Lo!  I  am  with  you  alway,  even  unto  the  end  of  the  world." 
"It  is  the  word  of  a  Gentleman  of  the  strictest  honor, ' '  says 
David  Livingstone,  "and  there  is  an  end  of  it." 

The  unifying  principle  of  Christendom  is  the  single  pur- 
pose to  redeem  society  according  to  the  plans  and  specifica- 
tions of  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord.  And  if  the  scattered  regi- 
ments of  the  Christian  Church  will  but  sink  their  differences 
and  obscure  their  prejudices,  if  with  unbroken  front  they 

331 


MILITANT  METHODISM. 

will  move  up  to  the  citadel  of  the  world's  sin  we  shall  not  be 
waiting  long  until  we  see  the  watch-towers  toppling  and  the 
triumphant  army,  as  in  the  days  of  Joshua,  marching  over 
the  prostrate  walls  of  the  city  and  taking  the  land  of  promise 
in  the  name  of  God. 

It  must,  of 'course,  be  a  conquering  Church  if  it  is  to  lay 
claim  to  being  a  Christian  Church.  What  a  slander  upon  the 
body  of  Christ  it  is  to  designate  any  institution  as  Christian 
that  does  not  know  how  to  overcome  the  world!  No  feeble 
and  ineffective  organism  can  honestly  wear  that  sublime  title. 
The  Son  of  God  was  manifested  to  destroy  the  works  of  the 
devil,  and  they  who  propose  to  follow  Him  must  exercise  the 
same  dynamic  and  produce  corresponding  results. 

For  the  works  of  the  devil  are  not  wholly  driven  from 
the  face  of  the  world;  many  of  them  are  deeply  entrenched 
in  the  life  of  our  modern  nations.  It  is  written  that  some- 
time men  will  "beat  their  swords  into  plowshares  and  their 
spears  into  pruning-hooks,  and  that  nation  shall  not  lift  up 
arras  against  nation,  neither  shall  they  learn  war  any  more, ' ' 
but  to-day  Christendom  is  armed  with  engines  of  destruction 
of  which  the  fervid  imagination  of  John  Milton  never  con- 
ceived when  he  attempted  to  portray  the  awful  strife  raised 
by  Lucifer  in  Heaven ;  and  they  plow  all  our  seas  and  menace 
the  peace  of  the  world.  The  diabolic  folly  that  sends  mil- 
lions of  men  to  death  in  order  that  a  strip  of  narrow  terri- 
tory may  be  given  to  a  people  or  a  new  bauble  to  a  monarch 
is  foredoomed  by  the  sentiment  of  the  Christian  Church.  It 
is  written,  "Thou  shalt  love  thy  neighbor  as  thyself,"  but  in 
Christian  nations  to-day  mammon  rears  his  haughty  crest  and 
into  the  hungry  maw  of  corporate  greed  you  are  pouring 
thousands  of  little  children  who  are  condemned  to  toil  at 
tasks  too  severe  for  their  tender  years.  You  are  compelling 
women  to  bear  burdens  under  which  they  faint,  which  make 
it  impossible  for  them  to  perform  the  noblest  functions  they 
owe  to  the  human  race,  and  which  make  them  incapable  of 
resisting  the  temptation  to  surrender  womanly  honor  for  the 

332 


THE  LARGER  OUTLOOK. 

purchase  of  ease.  In  order  that  there  may  be  larger  stock- 
holders' dividends,  or  that  you  may  provide  more  comforts 
for  those  who  are  already  comfortable  enough,  you  subject 
hundreds  and  thousands  of  men  to  occupations  which  are 
hazardous  to  life.  You  stand  by  and  observe  the  appalling 
sacrifice  of  human  strength  and  try  to  salve  your  consciences 
by  declaring  that  the  expanding  civilization  of  the  twentieth 
century  requires  such  tremendous  expenditure,  while  the  devil 
smirks  over  your  acquiescence  in  his  nefarious  work.  It  is 
said  that  no  drunkard  can  enter  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven, 
but  the  liquor  plutocracy  is  as  arrogant  as  ever.  Like  a  loath- 
some serpent  it  trails  its  scaly  length  over  the  platforms 
of  political  parties.  It  lays  its  shiny  folds  upon  the  desks 
of  legislators.  It  hisses  its  hateful  threat  even  in  the  temples 
of  religion.  It  spews  its  deadly  venom  upon  our  streets, 
poisoning  our  children,  debauching  public  sentiment,  and 
paralyzing  political  integrity.  Some  day  an  aroused  public 
conscience  armed  with  a  goodly  cudgel  will  beat  the  life  out 
of  this  monster,  and  this  work  of  the  devil  will  be  destroyed 
by  order  of  the  Son  of  God. 

These  are  but  illustrations  of  the  many  complex  problems 
now  confronting  the  Christian  Church.  If  the  Church  is  to 
be  invincible  it  must  first  of  all  recognize  the  supremacy 
which  belongs  to  her  among  the  moral  forces  of  society,  and 
must  insistently  proclaim  that  primacy  in  the  face  of  men 
and  devils.  I  can  not  believe  that  Jesus  Christ  was  merely 
throwing  off  a  rhetorical  flourish  when  He  said,  "On  this 
rock  I  will  build  My  Church  and  the  gates  of  hell  shall  not 
prevail  against  it."  He  intended  that  this  Church  should 
be  the  earthly  expression  of  divine  authority  in  the  world. 
The  Christian  Church  has  not  been  compacted  by  centuries 
of  history  and  developed  by  ages  of  Christian  thought  and 
service  without  a  divine  predestination  to  a  sublime  purpose. 
The  Christian  Church  is  to  fill  the  whole  earth  and  exercise 
authority  over  universal  society  in  the  Jiame  of  the  Lord. 

But  with  a  strange  fatuity  the  Church  of  our  times  seems 

333 


MILITANT  METHODISM. 

disposed  to  list  itself  among  many  competitive  agencies  seek- 
ing to  elevate  mankind.  It  permits  itself  to  be  catalogued 
on  a  parity  with  the  press,  the  drama,  the  school,  the  political 
institutions  of  our  day.  You  will  hear  people  say  that  the 
press  preaches  to  a  wider  constituency  than  the  pulpit,  that 
the  theater  will  sometimes  give  a  better  sermon  than  does 
the  Church,  that  fraternal,  mutual  benefit  societies  show 
larger  humanity  than  does  the  Church,  that  literature  and 
art  and  music  are  spiritual  forces  more  beneficial  than  public 
worship,  and  that  our  organized  charities  are  more  Christ- 
like  than  the  missionary  movement  projected  by  Jesus  Christ 
our  Lord.  To  state  these  declarations  before  such  an  audience 
is  to  refute  them.  The  Church  has  no  reason  for  existence 
if  it  does  not  rise  superior  to  all  other  agencies  seeking  the 
redemption  of  society.  Unless  the  Church  affirms  its  primacy 
and  defends  it  against  all  who  seek  its  overthrow,  it  will  not 
be  able  to  command  the  respect  of  the  people  who  live  in  this 
age. 

If  the  Church  is  to  be  invincible  she  must  also  summon 
to  her  standard  all  who  are  in  agreement  with  her  main 
proposition,  which  is  the  redemption  of  society  from  iniquity. 
There  are  two  sermons  of  John  Wesley  which  are  not  fre- 
quently enough  perused  by  our  people.  One  is  called  "The 
Catholic  Spirit,"  and  the  other,  "A  Caution  Against  Big- 
otry." "Is  thine  heart  right  as  my  heart  with  thy  heart? 
If  it  be,  give  me  thine  hand."  You  speak  of  Christianity 
as  a  universal  religion,  but  you  treat  it  as  if  it  were  a  kind 
of  a  partisan  affair.  You  draw  a  picture  of  God  and  say  to 
me,  "Bow  down  and  reverence  or  you  are  no  true  worshiper." 
You  crowd  the  poetic  speech  of  Jesus  into  hard,  metallic 
molds  and  say,  "Accept  these  narrow  dogmas  or  you  can 
not  have  fellowship  with  us."  You  expand  the  Sermon  on 
the  Mount  into  minute  particulars  for  the  regulation  of  every 
detail  of  human  life,  and  you  say,  "Obey  these  or  you  have 
not  the  spirit  of  Christ."  Everywhere  we  are  turning  men 
away  from,  fellowship  with  the  Christian  Church  by  require 

334 


THE  LARGER  OUTLOOK. 

ments  which  are  not  based  upon  Scripture  or  founded  upon 
reason.  I  am  no  latitudinarian.  I  hold  fixed  convictions  and 
I  am  proposing  to  proclaim  them,  but  I  find  nothing  in  the 
New  Testament  which  requires  me  to  condemn  men  who  can 
not  pronounce  my  theological  shibboleths  and  who  can  not 
without  intellectual  dishonesty  agree  to  many  of  the  minor 
non-essentials  of  Christian  doctrine.  All  over  the  world  to- 
day there  are  men  who  love  mercy,  deal  justly,  and  walk 
humbly  with  God,  but  can  not  accept  all  that  the  Church  of 
to-day  requires  of  them  without  sacrificing  the  principle  of 
truth  in  their  lives,  and  we  say  to  them:  *»We  put  you  on 
our  waiting  list.  When  you  have  been  fully  qualified  we  shall 
admit  you."  0,  stupid  and  ineffective  policy!  The  next 
revival  should  be  one  of  clarified  common  sense.  No  man 
need  be  asked  to  bow  down  before  any  other  man's  theological 
caricature  of  God.  We  know  the  law  of  eternal  life :  ' '  Thou 
shalt  love  God.  Thou  shalt  love  thy  neighbor  as  thyself." 
To  love  God  is  not  merely  to  adore  a  picture  some  other  brain 
has  drawn.  It  is  to  love  goodness  objectified  in  a  Person  of 
infinite  holiness.  Do  you  love  eternal  righteousness?  There 
is  my  hand.  After  a  while  we  shall  have  the  judgment  to 
say:  "Do  you  want  to  lead  a  clean  life?  Do  you  believe 
that  Jesus  Christ  has  the  secret  of  that  life  ?  Will  you  enter 
into  His  sublime  ambition  to  make  a  clean  world  ?  Will  you 
follow  Him  to  the  death?  Here  is  my  hand."  And  over 
these  clasped  palms  the  pierced  hands  of  Jesus  will  be  laid 
to  cement  the  bargain. 

Then,  take  up  those  great  questions  in  which  the  whole 
world  is  concerned  to-day.  Justin  McCarthy  has  said  that 
the  progress  of  English  reforms  has  usually  pursued  this 
course:  First  of  all,  the  writers  bring  it  before  the  public 
mind  and  prove  that  the  thing  they  are  trying  to  advocate 
is  justified,  but  Parliament  pays  no  attention  to  that.  Then 
it  gets  out  among  the  people.  An  agitation  ensues,  but  still 
Parliament  does  nothing  of  a  practical  .mature.  Then  the 
people  are  no  longer  to  be  suppressed,  violence  breaks  forth, 

335 


MILITANT  METHODISM. 

and  finally,  just  before  revolution  has  actually  come  upon  the 
nation,  the  English  Parliament  takes  up  the  matter  and  gives 
it  adjustment.  Is  not  that  a  picture  of  the  Christian  Church  ? 
Is  it  not  true  that  everywhere  the  air  is  fairly  vibrant  with 
enthusiasm  for  social  reform.  If  we  believe  in  Divine  Provi- 
dence we  must  be  convinced  that  the  temper  of  the  times 
is  no  accident.  The  finger-print  of  the  Eternal  is  here.  The 
Socialist  is  abroad  in  the  land ;  violence,  threatening,  and  curs- 
ing are  everywhere.  The  Church  dimly  sees  her  peril.  She 
rubs  her  eyes  and  finds  that  she  has  the  charter  of  human 
freedom  in  her  possession,  that  it  is  her  business  to  abolish 
oppression,  and  with  hesitating  feet  she  joins  the  procession 
of  liberators.  0,  Church  of  the  living  God,  get  in  front! 
Sound  the  charge,  lead  the  hosts  over  the  ramparts. 

But  finally,  if  the  Church  is  to  be  successful,  she  must 
place  her  main  reliance  upon  supernatural  power.  Chris- 
tianity is  a  supernatural  religion,  and  must  be  propagated 
by  a  supernatural  agency  if  it  is  to  accomplish  a  super- 
natural work.  I  will  not  quibble  about  the  word  supernatural. 
We  know  it  is  used  to  differentiate  material  from  the  spir- 
itual. If  the  Church  is  to  be  successful  it  must  depend  not 
upon  man,  but  upon  God.  The  early  apostolic  Church  real- 
ized that.  The  primitive  Christian  conducted  the  whole  busi- 
ness of  life  in  an  atmosphere  of  devotion  and  under  the 
dominance  of  a  spiritual  purpose.  Every  meal  was  a  sacra- 
ment, and  every  house  a  temple.  Every  social  custom  was 
inter-penetrated  with  a  spiritual  intention.  The  whole  destiny 
of  the  Christian  movement  was  pitched  upon  the  power  of 
God  to  express  Himself  in  the  life  of  man  and  bring  the  world 
to  a  knowledge  of  the  truth  in  Jesus  Christ. 

That  early  Church  saw  the  wisdom  of  this  when  on  the 
day  of  Pentecost  the  Judean  capital  was  swept  by  an  influ- 
ence supernal  which  shook  it  from  temple  to  wall,  from 
palace  to  hut.  They  saw  it  again  when  Peter  the  fisherman, 
without  a  touch  of  science  or  philosophy,  and  with  a  sermon 
composed  chiefly  of  quotations  from  the  Old  Testament,  so 

336 


THE  LARGER  OUTLOOK. 

preached  the  gospel  that  three  thousand  souls  were  brought 
into  the  rapture  of  conscious  salvation.  They  saw  it  again 
at  Caesarea,  when  an  enlightened  pagan,  having  heard  the 
gospel,  he  and  the  multitude  about  him.  broke  forth  into  songs 
of  rejoicing.  They  saw  it  again  on  the  Damascus  road  when 
the  most  liberally  educated  Jew  of  his  day  was  stricken  by 
light  which  first  blinded  him  and  then  blazed  glory  into  his 
soul  and  led  him  to  swing  his  talents  and  accomplishments 
over  to  Jesus  Christ.  They  saw  it  again  when  sallying  forth 
into  a  civilization  brutal  but  elegant,  these  humble  Christians 
drove  everything  before  them  and  buried  philosophic  heathen- 
ism and  Roman  imperialism  into  an  eternal  grave.  When 
persecution  poured  upon  them  like  a  pack  of  wolves,  they 
took  to  their  knees  and  besought  God  to  give  them  relief, 
and  the  power  of  the  Holy  Spirit  shattered  prison  walls, 
filled  their  bosoms  with  enthusiasm,  and  enabled  them  to 
carry  the  gospel  through  the  whole  Roman  Empire. 

Do  you  not  believe  that  the  world  is  waiting  for  a  re- 
enactment  of  scenes  like  these  wherever  in  the  world  Chris- 
tians pursue  their  activities?  Do  you  not  feel  as  you  read 
the  pages  of  current  history  that  the  Church  will  rise  with 
undaunted  spirit,  with  unconquerable  faith,  and  with  divinely 
inspired  wisdom  to  meet  the  issues  of  our  day  ,and  carry  the 
glad  tidings  around  the  world?  "When  the  publishers  of 
Peary's  book  descriptive  of  his  discoveries  at  the  North  Pole 
offered  him  the  largest  sum  ever  given  for  a  work  of  that 
nature,  their  explanation  was  that  his  was  the  last  of  the 
earth's  great  stories.  The  latest  it  may  be,  but  not  the  last. 
That  is  in  process  of  writing,  and  every  faithful  Christian 
disciple  has  his  finger  on  the  page  and  is  seeking  to  make  the 
narrative  full  of  power  for  succeeding  generations.  An  old 
prophet  saw  its  culmination  and  broke  forth  in  ecstatic  song: 
' '  The  wilderness  and  the  solitary  place  shall  be  glad,  and  the 
desert  shall  blossom  and  rejoice,  and  the  eyes  of  the  blind 
shall  be  opened  and  the  ears  of  the  deaf  shall  be  unstopped ; 
the  lame  man  shall  leap  as  a  hart  and  the  tongue  of  the  dumb 
22  337 


MILITANT  METHODISM. 

shall  sing;  for  out  of  the  wilderness  waters  shall  break  forth 
and  streams  in  the  desert,  .  .  .  and  the  ransomed  of  the 
Lord  shall  return  and  come  to  Zion  with  songs  and  ever- 
lasting joy  upon  their  heads ;  they  shall  obtain  joy  and  glad- 
ness, and  sighing  and  sorrow  shall  flee  away."  0,  to  be  a 
participant  in  the  great  enterprise  by  which  Jesus  Christ 
proposes  to  conquer  this  world  is  sublime  enough  to  trans- 
figure the  humblest  personality !  0,  to  share  in  the  ultimate 
conquest  of  our  Lord  is  glorious  enough  to  make  the  proudest 
monument  of  the  world  cheap  and  tawdry !  "Awake !  Awake ! 
Put  on  thy  strength,  0  Zion!" 

The  Ownership  and  Lordship  of  Jesus  Christ. 

GEORGE  SHERWOOD  EDDY. 

As  WE  come  towards  the  close  of  this  Convention  we  are 
brought  face  to  face  with  this  question  of  the  ownership  and 
lordship  of  Jesus  Christ.  The  facts  will  fade  in  our  memories, 
feeling  will  pass,  and  in  the  end  our  personal  relationship 
to  Jesus  Christ  will  determine  what  we  are  to  do  about  the 
things  we  have  heard  in  this  Convention.  A  year  or  ten 
years  hence,  will  you  and  I  be  able  to  say,  "I  was  not  dis- 
obedient to  the  heavenly  vision?"  Dull  must  he  be  of  soul 
to  whom  God  has  not  spoken  in  these  great  calls  that  have 
come  from  the  home  and  foreign  fields.  Now,  as  we  go  home, 
what  are  you  and  I  going  to  do  and  what  are  we  going  to  be  ? 
Life  is  a  stewardship,  a  trust  from  God,  and  every  breath 
we  breathe  makes  us  a  new  debtor  to  Him  and  dependent  upon 
Him ;  every  pulse-beat  is  the  life  of  God  within  us ;  this  body 
is  a  temple;  all  these  possessions  we  call  our  own,  whose  are 
they?  "The  silver  and  the  gold  are  Mine;  the  earth  is  the 
Lord's,  and  the  fullness  thereof."  It  is  all  a  trust  from 
Him.  Have  you  recognized  that  ownership  and  lordship  of 
Jesus  Christ?  Think  of  the  difference  that  would  make  in 
your  life  and  mine!  Think  of  the  difference  it  made  in  the 
life  of  Paul.  Think  of  Saul  of  Tarsus  coming  down  that 

338 


THE  LARGER  OUTLOOK. 

Damascus  road;  then  think  of  the  ownership  and  lordship 
recognized  by  Paul.  He  had  been  working  for  God,  but  now 
God  was  working  through  him:  is  He  working  through  us, 
and  are  the  rivers  of  living  water  flowing  full  and  free  like 
a  mighty  flood  ?  Does  God  dare  to  trust  us  with  much  power 
or  full  power?  Think  of  the  difference  it  m'ade  in  the  life 
of  that  blundering,  honest-hearted  Peter,  blinded  with  self- 
wisdom,  with  self-love,  with  self-glory,  and  at  last  cursing 
and  swearing  that  he  did  not  know  his  Lord.  There  was  the 
end  of  himself.  Then,  broken,  humbled,  that  man  standing 
that  morning  by  the  little  Lake  of  Galilee,  fzic'e  to  face  with 
his  Master,  Jesus  Christ.  His  work  on  earth  was  done,  He 
had  lived,  He  had  died,  He  had  paid  the  price  once  for  all. 
He  had  risen,  He  had  given  the  last  commission,  and  all 
heaven  was  waiting  to  receive  Him  and  crown  Him  King  of 
kings  and  Lord  of  lords.  And  Jesus,  risen,  with  heaven  wait- 
ing, tarries  for  an  interview  with  one  man.  I  can  see  Him 
standing  there,  the  King  of  glory,  waiting  for  Simon  to  finish 
his  breakfast.  Then,  longing  to  get  possession  of  that  blun- 
dering heart,  He  says  wistfully,  "Simon,  son  of  Jonas, 
lovest  thou  Me?"  That  question  searched  his  soul.  And 
with  all  his  heart  he  could  look  his  Master  in  the  face  and 
say,  "Thou  knowest  that  I  love  Thee."  "Feed  My  sheep." 
But  it  was  not  ended.  Deeper  probed  that  question  of  love. 
"Simon,  do  you  really  love  Me?"  Again  he  honestly  an- 
swered, "Thou  knowest  that  I  love  Thee."  And  then  once 
again,  ' '  Simon,  lovest  thou  Me  ? ' '  And  Simon — I  think  there 
were  tears  in  his  eyes  and  grief  in  his  heart — but  he  an- 
swered, "Thou  knowest  that  I  love  Thee."  Then  He  said, 
"Feed  My  sheep."  And  then  He  went  back  to  heaven  and 
knewr  that  the  work  would  be  done  and  that  one  heart  down 
in  this  world  recognized  the  Lordship  of  his  Master,  Jesus 
Christ,  and  that  he  would  live  and  die  for  Him.  The  cause 
was  safe  and  He  went  back  to  glory. 

We  come  to  the  end  of  this  Convention,' "-out  is  it  not  true 
that  One  stands  here  to-day  in  the  hush  of  these  closing  hours 

339 


MILITANT  METHODISM. 

with  all  power  given  Him  in  heaven  and  earth,  yet  helpless 
before  you,  knocking  with  His  pierced  hands,  asking  that 
one  question,  "You  know  the  fact,  you  have  heard  the  ad- 
dresses, you  have  the  feelings,  but  what  are  you  going  to  do 
and  what  are  you  going  to  be?  "Will  the  rivers  flow?  Will 
the  dead  be  raised?  Will  the  world  be  won?  Will  you  be 
true?"  He  presses  that  question  home  to-day  to  every  heart 
in  this  room.  He  asks  us  this  question  to-day,  "Lovest  thou 
Me?"  It  is  a  threefold  challenge  of  love:  "Lovest  thou 
Me  enough  to  give  thyself?  How  much  dost  thou  love  Me, 
weighed  in  the  balance  of  love?"  What  is  the  ultimate  pur- 
pose of  your  life  and  mine?  Is  it  to  get  or  to  give?  Is  it 
for  selfishness  or  sacrifice  ?  Is  it  for  silver  or  for  soul  ?  For 
mankind  or  for  God  ?  For  self  or  Christ  ?  ' ' Lovest  thou  Me 
enough  to  give  thyself  ? ' '  There  are  waiting  fields  over  there 
in  that  other  half  that  have  never  heard.  I  see  young  men 
here,  some  under  forty,  some  under  thirty-five — young  pas- 
tors and  laymen  with  life  before  them.  There  are  places 
out  there  that  can  be  filled  even  in  the  English  language. 
Never  mind  the  age.  Brother,  would  you  go  if  the  way  were 
opened?  Would  you  go  to-day?  Many  a  heart  answers,  "I 
love  Thee  and  I  long  to  go."  Yes,  we  do.  Some  have  to 
stand  beside  little  open  graves  out  there.  A  letter  just  re- 
ceived from  a  brother  says :  ' '  My  litle  boy  died  from  tropical 
dysentery.  Three  months  later  my  little  girl  sickened  with 
the  same  disease.  My  wife  had  to  be  carried  from  the  hos- 
pital to  the  bedside  of  that  little  one,  who  soon  died.  My 
wife  is  ordered  home  on  account  of  sickness.  Pray  that 
we  may  not  have  to  go  home."  "Lovest  thou  Me?  Enough 
to  give  thyself  in  the  person  of  that  daughter  or  son  or  little 
one?" 

"Lovest  thou  Me  enough  to  give  thyself  in  prayer?" 
Prayer  moves  the  Power  of  the  world.  Do  we  know  how 
to  pray?  I  will  tell  you  of  a  man  who  knows  how  to  pray. 
How  did  he  learn  it?  A  young,  self-confident,  Peter-like 
pastor  out  in  China.  But  a  woman  was  praying  for  him. 

340 


THE  LARGER  OUTLOOK. 

She  could  not  preach.  She  did  not  know  the  language  very 
well.  There  was  a  series  of  special  meetings  to  be  held.  The 
one  who  was  to  preach  one  night  failed  to  appear.  She 
called  the  young  pastor  and  said,  ''Pastor,  you  will  have 
to  take  the  meeting  to-night  in  the  church."  He  lost  his 
temper  and  said,  "You  knew  he  was  not  coming;  you  are 
trying  to  make  me  take  the  meeting."  Broken-hearted,  she 
got  down  on  her  face  to  pray.  In  tears  she  prayed.  That 
night  the  young  pastor  got  up  to  take  the  meeting.  Some- 
how, before  the  meeting  ended  the  power  of  God  fell  on 
the  audience  and  on  that  pastor.  Men  were  convicted  of  sin. 
He  came  in  and  said,  "Pray  for  me,  a  sinful  soul,  for  I  have 
seen  God  this  night."  I  saw  that  man  in  a  Student  Con- 
ference there  in  China.  His  name  is  Dingley  May.  I  saw 
him  in  that  Conference  and  watched  him,  for  I  had  heard 
about  him.  I  had  heard  that  he  prayed  two  or  three  hours 
a  day.  When  the  last  night  came  we  were  really  very  tired, 
but  until  near  morning  that  man  was  praying  for  every  dele- 
gate by  name,  sending  those  boys  back  to  evangelize  their 
country  and  to  save  it.  When  I  asked  him  to  pray  for  me, 
I  saw  him  put  my  name  on  his  list  No.  1,  those  for  whom  he 
prays  every  day,  and  I  saw  that  my  number  was  1,142.  That 
man  is  raising  an  army  of  ministers  for.  Japan.  I  said, 
"What  is  your  method?"  He  said,  "I  have  no  method  but 
prayer."  No  eloquence,  no  great  learning,  but  that  power 
of  prayer — do  we  have  it? 

"Lovest  thou  Me"  enough  to  give  thyself?  The  second 
time  he  asks  that  question,  "Lovest  thou  Me"  enough  to  give 
thy  substance?  How  much  have  I  given?  How  much  have 
I  kept?  I  sat  beside  a  young  couple  the  other  night  at  table. 
I  said,  "What  are  you  going  to  do?"  They  said,  "We  are 
going  out  this  fall."  I  said,  "Where?"  They  told  me  of  a 
great  land  up  in  the  north  of  India,  a  closed  land  where  no 
man  has  ever  entered.  I  looked  at  that  brilliant  scholar  and 
at  that  young  girl,  and  I  said:  "The  fii*t  convert  he  gets, 
they  will  put  a  bullet  through  him.  The  first  we  know,  that 

341 


MILITANT  METHODISM. 

girl  will  fill  an  open  grave  out  there."  I  said,  "Do  you 
know  what  it  means  to  go  to  that  land  ? "  "0  yes, ' '  she  said, 
"we  know."  Tears  filled  my  eyes  and  I  said:  "Splendid! 
Go  ahead!"  And  then  I  thought,  "Do  I  want  them  to  go 
ahead  and  lay  down  their  lives,  and  then  am  I  afraid  to  ask 
a  man  to  give  up  his  substance  to  back  such  precious  lives 
at  the  front?"  You  can  not  go,  many  of  you;  the  time  has 
passed  when  you  could  go,  and  God  wants  you  here.  But 
would  you  send  a  substitute  ?  Why  not  ?  I  saw  a  man  yester- 
day, and  the  last  time  I  saw  that  man  he  did  not  believe  in 
foreign  missions.  "We  were  crossing  the  water  ten  years  ago. 
This  man  said,  "When  they  come  to  me  for  foreign  missions, 
I  tell  them  I  only  believe  in  home  missions;  and  when  they 
come  to  me  for  home  missions,  I  say  I  believe  in  something 
else."  But  he  has  been  growing  since  then,  and  he  said 
yesterday:  "My  wife  and  I  sat  down  this  week  and  said, 
'Let  us  agree  that  we  will  lay  nothing  by;  we  will  run  the 
business  and  cut  down  our  own  expenses  to  the  limit  of  sim- 
plicity, and  give  all  the  rest  to  the  Kingdom — not  lay  it  up 
here.  It  is  so  restful  to  have  just  handed  it  over  to  the 
Master.'  '  Brother,  have  you  found  that  rest  and  that  joy? 
"Lovest  thou  Me"  enough  to  give  thyself,  thy  substance, 
and  thy  time?  Some  will  give  money  who  have  no  time. 
But  out  in  Korea  I  sat  in  a  little  church  seventeen  years  ago, 
when  I  started  in  out  there,  when  there  were  seven  men  bap- 
tized in  a  little  room  ten  feet  square,  which  they  dared  to 
call  a  church.  I  have  been  there  since  and  seen  fifteen  hun- 
dred people  at  the  Church  service,  eight  hundred  nt  the 
Wednesday  night  prayer-meeting,  all  wanting  to  pray.  From 
that  Church  of  seventeen  years  ago  they  have  sent  off  forty- 
two  branch  Churches  and  congregations,  and  one  thousand 
five  hundred  are  left  in  the  mother  Church.  How  do  they 
do  it  ?  Because  every  Christian  is  a  witness,  and  the  gospel 
is  still  good  news  in  Korea.  Is  it  not  still  good  news  here? 
How  many  of  us  laymen  won  a  soul  this  year?  How  many 
of  us  spoke  to  a  man  this  month?  I  found  the  gospel  the 

342 


THE  LARGER  OUTLOOK. 

same  good  news  to  open  a  man's  heart  the  other  night  on  the 
train,  the  barber  on  the  train — just  as  powerful  and  just  as 
new.  Christ  asks  our  time.  I  saw  a  laymen  leave  a  con- 
vention like  this  in  this  State.  He  went  back  home  and  gave 
a  little  of  his  time.  He  saw  twenty  men  and  they  gave  four- 
teen thousand  dollars  in  that  Church  that  year.  It  was 
better  than  if  he  had  given  the  amount  himself.  They  take 
up  a  collection  of  days  in  Korea.  They  took  up  a  collection 
of  three  thousand  days.  Do  you  wonder  that  they  increased 
their  gifts  in  that  Church  that  year?  0  for  a  collection  of 
days  of  service !  Are  we  going  back  to  Witness,  are  we 
going  back  to  work  in  our  Church?  "Lovest  thou  Me" 
enough  to  give  thy  time? 

In  closing,  it  is  not  only  a  threefold  challenge  of  love,  it 
is  the  threefold  call  of  service.  It  is  a  call  to  heroism.  O, 
those  men  out  at  the  front  know  what  heroism  means !  Here 
is  one  of  them  (showing  a  photograph).  Who  is  he?  An 
M.  A.  of  Harvard,  Ph.  D.  of  Princeton — he  is  out  there  in 
Korea.  He  was  at  Minneapolis  and  some  of  you  saw  him  and 
heard  him  there.  As  a  little  boy  he  came  to  the  little  Chris- 
tian school  a  proud  Confudanist,  braced  against  Christianity 
as  the  hated  foreign  doctrine,  but  he  heard  the  words  "lib- 
erty" and  "government,"  and  he  went  out  with  those  men 
and  organized  an  independent  party ;  they  captured  the  Cab- 
inet; they  were  introducing  reforms.  Suddenly  the  old  em- 
peror turned  against  them,  the  guards  rushed  from  the  palace 
and  they  were  seized  and  thrown  into  prison.  Some  of  them 
were  beheaded.  This  man's  turn  was  to  come  next;  he  was 
to  be  beheaded,  and  after  that — what?  "Where  am  I  going?" 
Confucianism  did  not  tell  him.  He  remembered  then  that  back 
in  the  mission  school  he  had  heard  of  the  Heavenly  Father, 
of  His  Son  who  had  died,  and  of  the  heaven  beyond.  He 
told  me  that  he  did  not  know  how  to  pray.  He  was  chained 
in  the  stocks  and  covered  with  vermin,  with  his  limbs  twisted 
in  torture.  He  bent  his  head  and  cried  -vith  broken  heart, 
' '  0  God !  save  my  country,  save  my  soul ! "  It  was  a  good 

343 


MILITANT  METHODISM. 

prayer  for  a  man  who  did  not  know  how  to  pray.  He  sent 
out  word  to  his  own  Confucian  father  in  the  city  to  get  a 
Bible  to  him,  and  that  father  smuggled  a  Testament  to  him 
through  the  bars  of  the  jail.  I  hold  in  my  hand  that  precious 
little  book  (exhibiting)  that  fed  that  prison  for  seven  years, 
that  saved  that  man,  and  that  started  a  revival  in  that  jail. 
It  is  a  little  English  Testament.  He  could  not  hold  it  in  his 
hands,  for  they  were  chained ;  another  held  it  in  front  of  him 
and  turned  the  pages  while  he  drank  in  the  message  and  told 
his  fellow  prisoners.  When  the  jailer  came  in  he  boldly  wit- 
nessed, and  the  jailer  at  last  believed  and  was  baptized,  with 
all  his  house.  Paul  was  in  prison  at  Philippi  one  night;  this 
man  was  in  the  prison  in  Korea  seven  years,  and  in  such  a 
prison  for  filth  and  cruelty  as  probably  even  the  Roman  Em- 
pire never  saw.  He  started  a  Bible  class,  and  forty  men 
joined,  the  jailer  joined,  and  a  revival  broke  out.  At  last, 
fortified  by  the  Spirit  of  God,  that  litle  group  of  men  came 
out  to  win  Korea  for  Christ.  0,  the  heroism  of  somte  of  your 
men  at  the  front!  It  is  a  call  to  the  heroic,  to  us  as  well  as 
them.  Will  we  respond  ? 

It  is  the  call  again  of  that  waiting  world.  That  world  has 
never  heard  of  Christ  because  we  have  never  told  them,  but 
that  world  is  ready.  Dr.  Mott  and  I  crossed  Asia,  and  the 
last  city  was  Mukden,  in  Manchuria.  In  1900,  in  that  center 
of  the  Boxer  persecution,  there  stood  a  poor,  humble  preacher ; 
the  swords  were  raised  above  his  head.  "Are  you  going  to 
preach  that  Jesus  doctrine?"  He  replied,  "As  long  as  I 
live  I  will  preach  it."  They  cut  off  his  ears,  and  they  gave 
him  one  more  chance,  and  they  said,  "Are  you  going  to 
preach  it?"  He  said,  "I  will."  They  cut  off  his  lips,  and 
with  strength  ebbing  from  him  he  said,  "I  may  not  be  able 
to  speak  much  longer,  but  I  can  believe  and  I  witness  for 
Christ."  With  a  terrible  cross  thrust  they  cut  out  his  heart 
and  he  fell.  His  little  girl  fled  into  the  cornfield,  clasping  a 
Testament  in  her  hand.  The  Boxers  caught  her  and  they 
said,  "Aren't  you  afraid  to  die?"  Smiling,  she  said, 

344 


THE  LARGER  OUTLOOK. 

"Afraid  or  not,  it  is  all  one."  And  as  she  smiled  the  sword 
cut  her  down.  I  wish  you  could  have  seen  that  great  crowd 
in  that  great  hall  built  by  the  Government — five  thousand 
Government  students  at  an  evangelistic  meeting  in  that  hall 
built  by  a  Confucian  Government ;  the  Minister  of  Education, 
a  Confucianist,  and  thirty-six  of  the  officials,  professors  and 
teachers  in  that  Government  institution,  where  thirteen  years 
ago  these  men  were  falling  in  the  Boxer  uprising. 

And  lastly,  as  we  close,  it  is  the  call  not  only  to  the  heroic, 
not  only  the  call  of  that  waiting  world,  it  is  the  call  of  Jesus 
Himself,  who  says,  "I  was  a  hungered,  I  ]gas  athirst,  I  was 
naked,  a  stranger,  sick,  and  in  prison."  "Simon,  son  of 
Jonas,  lovest  thou  Me?"  Enough  to  give  thyself,  enough 
to  give  thy  substance,  enough  to  give  thy  time?  How  many 
hearts  can  answer  back,  "Thou  knowest  that  I  love  Thee," 
and  go  from  this  Convention  with  His  commission,  ' '  Feed  My 
sheep,"  recognizing  in  that  unbroken  fellowship  with  Jesus 
the  ownership  and  Lordship  of  Jesus  Christ? 


345 


III.   THE  LARGER  OUTLOOK  FOR  THE  OC- 
CIDENT AND  THE  ORIENT. 


The  American  Republic  a  World  Influence. 
WILLIAM  A.  QUAYLE. 

I  AM  told,  with  vrhat  degree  of  veracity  I  can  not  say,  that 
there  was  once  a  man  who  said  that  the  American  Republic 
had  blemishes.  He  is  now  dead  and  his  name  is  not  worth 
inquiring  after.  But  I  am  not  here  to-night  to  find  the 
freckles  on  the  face  of  the  Republic;  there  are  plenty  of 
dermatologists  who  can  do  that.  There  are  blemishes  in  the 
Republic,  there  are  fatuities  in  the  Republic ;  there  are  shames 
in  the  Republic;  but  thanks  be  to  the  great,  strong  God,  the 
Republic  in  spite  of  them  is  magnificent.  And  I  greatly 
deprecate  that  on  state  occasions,  on  4th  of  July  and  Me- 
morial Day,  men  of  attempted  sagacity  discover  an  oppor- 
tunity to  slur  the  Republic  and  tell  what  it  is  not.  But, 
citizens,  might  it  not  be  lovely  once  in  a  while  just  to  give 
way  to  a  hallelujah?  might  it  not  be  good  once  in  a  while 
just  to  shut  our  eyes  for  a  minute  and  say  there  never  was 
such  a  country  as  we  are  in  ?  But  I  would  not  brag  to-night. 
There  is  one  thing  about  our  Republic  that  I  greatly  delight 
in,  and  that  is  that  you  can  not  lie  about  its  excellencies. 
Because  its  excellencies  are  so  superb  that  even  Jack  Falstaff 
could  not  lie  about  them.  But  you  know  there  are  so  many 
folks  that  pay  a  great  deal  of  heed  to  the  fly  in  the  ointment ; 
they  do  not  pay  much  attention  to  the  ointment  except  as 
it  is  an  incarceration  process  for  the  fly.  Then  they  repeat, 
' '  There  is  a  fly  in  the  ointment. "  It  is  not  necessary  to  talk 
very  much  about  that,  but  it  is  rather  necessary  to  remark 
that  in  spite  of  its  weaknesses,  its  fallacies,  its  frailties,  its 

346 


THE  LARGER  OUTLOOK. 

failures,  the  Republic  has  gotten  on  so  that  her  voice  reaches 
the  ears  of  the  earth.  That  is  worth  while  remembering. 
And  the  Republic,  after  all  omissions  and  subtractions,  is  a 
world  majesty  and  has  a  world  demeanor  and  has  influence. 
Now,  one  time  a  gentleman  by  the  name  of  Columbus,  Mr. 
Columbus,  was  walking  out  westward  to  get  eastward,  and 
he  sternly  intended  to  visit  the  coast  of  China,  and  all  of  a 
sudden  and  unawares  he  stubbed  his  toe  against  the  Amer- 
ican continent  and  found  it  here.  Which  is  another  way 
of  saying  that  the  United  States  is  on  the  road  to  every- 
where. Which  is  another  way  of  saying  tfeat  if  you  want 
to  get  East  in  a  jiffy,  you  must  go  West  in  a  hurry;  just  a 
way  of  saying  that  the  United  States  is  a  half-way  house 
for  the  planet  on  the  road  to  anywhere,  on  the  road  to  every- 
where, and  can  not  be  omitted.  On  the  road  for  every  high  de- 
sign, on  the  road  to  every  noble  destiny,  on  the  road  to  every 
supreme  surprise,  on  the  road  to  every  divine  enterprise  is 
the  United  States  of  America.  In  other  words,  America  has 
come  out  into  the  open.  It  can  no  more  be  obscured  than  the 
sea.  It  can  no  more  be  forgotten  than  the  sun.  America  has 
rather  arrived  and  to  stay,  and  is  well  and  getting  along  in 
spite  of  what  has  happened  to  it,  thank  God ! 

But  what  I  say  is  this,  we  listen  to  so  many  people  who 
with  chapped  lips  eternally  prate  about  what  we  are  not. 
It  is  worth  while  to  pause  a  minute  and  say  what  we  are. 
Lots  of  people  have  talked  about  graft  so  much  that  if  they 
had  nightmares  they  would  see  grafters.  A  little  grafter 
goes  a  long  way,  and  there  are  not  many  of  them ;  and  a  little 
less  talk  about  them  would  make  them  less  numerous.  That 
is  the  truth  of  the  matter.  They  get  more  publicity  than 
they  demand!  The  Republic  is  not  a  grafter.  The  great 
ninety  million  are  not  grafters.  The  great  millions  of  the 
Republic  are  working  away  at  their  job.  What  is  their  job? 
O,  working  is  their  job,  and  getting  tired  is  their  job.  And 
sleeping  to  rest  up  is  their  job.  In  othe*  words,  the  United 
States  is  a  world  influence  not  because  of  magnitude,  but 

347 


MILITANT  METHODISM. 

because  of  behavior.  A  little  land!  Why,  America  could 
take  Greece  in  the  palm  of  its  hand  and  not  notice  anything 
in  it,  and  Montana  could  take  the  Holy  Land  in  its  hand 
and  think  the  hand  was  a  little  dirty  and  wash  it  out.  But  is 
that  anything  against  Palestine?  No,  Christ  came  from 
Palestine.  0,  Palestine  is  so  vast  that  the  only  continent  of 
heaven  will  be  named  Palestine  because  of  the  Holy  Land 
Christ  trod.  He  was  there  and  made  that  place  significant 
through  the  eternities.  And  Greece  was  little,  but  ah  me! 
it  spake  with  the  eloquence  that  moved  the  world.  America 
is  big  and  don't  deny  it.  It  is  a  big  continent,  but  not  by 
breadth  of  the  shoulders,  not  by  riches  of  money,  not  by  many 
marts,  not  by  profits  of  all  sorts  that  can  be  told — not  by  that, 
but  because  America  has  something  to  say  that  the  world 
needs  to  hear.  A  while  ago  when  I  was  a  lad  people  might 
argue  about  the  influence  of  America,  but  they  can  not 
do  that  any  more.  That  matter  is  not  up  for  disputation. 
We  have  touched  the  world  and  the  world  has  felt  the  thrill 
of  it,  and  we  are  here  and  our  voice  needs  no  megaphone 
to  be  heard  to  the  uttermost  parts  of  the  planet.  Now,  what 
is  the  reason?  That  is  what  I  am  here  to  answer.  Would 
to  God  that  I  knew  the  eloquence  that  would  flame  before 
men's  vision  this  powerful  truth,  that  our  influence  is  felt 
in  all  parts  of  the  planet.  We  have  no  individual  dialect; 
we  are  talking  in  the  language  of  the  earth,  so  that  men 
everywhere  hear  it.  We  do  not  talk  Chinese,  but  the  Chinese 
hear  us.  We  do  not  talk  Japanese,  but  Japan  hears  us.  There 
is  not  a  man  forlorn  and  overburdened  on  the  planet  but 
when  he  hears  "America,"  does  not  begin  to  look  up  to  the 
sky  and  say,  ' '  I  belong  to  the  sky ;  would  God  I  were  there ! ' ' 
Now  America's  influence  rests  first  because  it  has  made 
labor  aristocratical.  You  know  work  was  thought  to  be  demo- 
cratical;  it  was  thought  to  be  the  function  of  underlings. 
America  has  made  labor  the  work  of  upperlings.  And  if  a 
man  came  on  this  platform  and  said,  with  great  politeness, 
and  with  his  trousers  turned  up  to  the  top  of  his  shoes  and  a 

348 


THE  LARGER  OUTLOOK. 

collar  up  to  his  ears,  "I  am  a  laborless  individual;  I  have 
never  labored  and  never  will, ' '  we  would  call  him  a  hobo  and 
put  him  in  the  police-patrol,  and  that  is  where  he  belongs. 
Amterica  has  made  labor  aristocrat.  We  are  a  brood  of  labor- 
ing folks.  I  say  here  to-night  that  the  American  Republic, 
being  a  race  of  working  people  and  only  working  people  and 
ever  working  people  and  magnifying  labor,  has  made  labor 
unridiculous,  magnificent,  and  glorious.  Do  not  misunder- 
stand me ;  I  do  not  say  that  we  are  the  only  folks  that  work ; 
I  do  not  say  that  we  invented  work;  I  do  not  say  that  we 
are  the  only  diligent  people  on  the  earth*  I  say  that  the 
American  Republic  set  to  work  with  a  race  of  people  that 
had  nothing  to  make  everything,  and  we  have  made  so  much 
that  the  dukes  pass  their  hats  to  us  and  say,  "Give  us  a 
collection."  It  is  not  a  small  matter,  my  friends,  to  make 
work  aristocratical.  You  can  not  get  a  man  of  self-respect 
on  this  continent  to  say  that  he  is  unemployed.  In  other 
words,  one  of  the  influences  of  American  civilization  is  to 
make  work  magnificent.  Everywhere  an  American  goes  he 
says  he  has  got  a  business.  Of  others,  if  you  ask,  "What  is 
your  business  ? ' '  they  will  say, ' '  We  are  of  the  leisure  classes. ' ' 
Are  there  any  leisure  classes  in  America  ?  No.  We  all  work 
or  get  worked — that  is  all  there  is  to  it.  O  men,  I  incline 
to  the  opinion  that  we  have  not  largely  enough  estimated  the 
nobility  of  this  achievement,  that  we  are  a  race  of  shop- 
keepers; they  used  to  laugh  at  us,  but  we  built  the  shop  and 
we  keep  it,  and  nobody  can  get  it  away  from  us.  Amen. 

Then,  the  American  Republic's  influence  on  the  world 
is  the  influence  of  a  new  occupation  for  riches.  I  am  not 
rich,  but  I  am  saying  here  to-night  that  it  is  one  of  the  leanest 
of  lean  things  to  eternally  harass  riches:  It  is  not  the  part 
of  the  Church  nor  of  sagacity  to  do  it.  It  is  a  pretty  good 
thing  that  some  people  have  more  brains  than  most  of  us. 
The  whole  question  of  riches  is  coming  by  it  honestly  and  dis- 
tributing it  liberally.  American  riches  h»  re  set  an  absolutely 
undreamed-of  standard  of  riches  for  the  planet.  Over  in 

349 


MILITANT  METHODISM. 

England  if  you  get  rich,  you  found  a  family.  In  America 
you  found  an  institution,  which  is  better — that  is  the  differ- 
ence. 0,  do  you  take  any  care  to  read  year  by  year  of  the 
munificent  beneficence  of  American  riches  poured  into  the 
coffers  of  God  Almighty.  0,  me !  the  world  has  got  to  give. 
Why?  Because  America  shows  the  world  how.  Here  you 
see  a  man  going  around  and  won't  even  let  the  hook-worms 
hook  without  putting  brakes  on  them;  won't  even  let  edu- 
cation educate  without  endowing  it — colleges,  universities, 
hospitals,  infirmaries,  every  good  thing  that  God  Almighty 
has  hinted  at,  people  have  endowed  in  America.  But  you 
can't  have  riches  stingy  any  more.  And  why?  Because 
America  won't  let  them.  I  say  here  to-night,  not  being  apt 
in  figures  but  being  pretty  good  in  judgment — I  say  here 
to-night,  that  America  has  done  more  giving  in  its  brief  life- 
time than  the  whole  history  of  the  world  has  known.  0,  if 
we  get  money,  we  give  money;  if  we  earn  much,  we  give 
much! 

Again,  American  influence  is  that  it  has  believed  and  pro- 
ceeded on  the  belief  that  Christianity  could  stand  on  its  own 
feet.  I  used  to  think  that  Christianity  had  to  be  bolstered 
up  by  governments  and  in  order  to  have  a  Church  you  had 
to  have  a  State  to  hold  the  Church  up.  "We  have  learned  that 
you  have  got  to  have  a  Church  to  hold  the  State  up.  We  have 
learned  that  the  Church  is  not  a  pensioner  of  the  Government, 
but  the  Government  is  a  pensioner  on  the  Church.  We  have 
found  out  that  Christianity  can  stand  out  in  the  wind  and 
the  weather,  and  the  winds  blow  and  the  storms  descend  and 
the  thunder  crash,  and  the  storm  goes  by  and  the  Church 
roof  is  washed  by  the  calamity.  It  is  a  great  matter  that 
the  Church  does  not  have  to  be  held,  and  I  will  say  here 
to-night  that  nothing  seems  to  be  more  sublimely  eloquent 
than  that  the  American  people  have  not  any  foundation  of 
government  for  the  Church.  Why?  Why,  because  the 
Church  sprang  not  out  of  the  kings,  but  out  of  the  heart  of 
Christ.  When  they  tore  away  there  to  the  heart,  the  Church 

350 


THE  LARGER  OUTLOOK. 

leaked  out  and  began  to  sing  a  hallelujah  chorus.  Trust  the 
Church  to  keep  alive  and  well,  and  don't  hold  its  hands  and 
talk  pathetically  to  it.  Say,  "0,  Church  of  God,  God  loves 
thee!"  Then  all  the  Church  bells  will  begin  to  ring.  We 
need  less  fussing  about  the  Church  and  diagnosing  of  it,  but 
more  loving  of  it  and  going  to  it.  I  don't  take  much  stock 
in  telling  what  classes  of  people  don't  go  to  Church.  No 
good  in  saying  a  lot  of  people  don't  go  to  Church.  More  go 
to  Church  now  than  ever.  Who  pay  the  bills  of  the  Church? 
The  people  do.  Why?  Because  the  soul  is  higher  than  the 
roof  of  a  schoolhouse  and  the  dome  of  the  Washington  Capitol, 
and  higher  than  the  groined  roof  of  the  sky  littered  with 
stars.  And  the  Church  in  America  has  stood  alone.  Here 
stands  a  fact :  the  Church  of  God  belongs  to  mortality  and  so 
long  as  men  stay  mortal  the  Church  of  God  will  be  here  and 
self-supporting,  and  America  says  that.  That  is  a  great 
message. 

Then,  America's  influence  is  to  the  effect  that  it  makes 
people  dream.  Most  people  do  not  dream  unless  they  go  to 
bed,  but  the  worst  thing  about  that  is,  you  can  not  sit  up 
with  your  dreams  and  you  do  not  know  what  they  are,  and 
if  they  wake  you  up  they  are  not  things  you  want  to  sit  up 
with.  In  other  words,  America's  influence  is  to  make  dream- 
ing an  occupation  to  be  desired.  To  dream  by  day  is  to 
dream  for  good.  The  other  day  I  came  over  from  the  village 
of  Washington  with  Bishop  Cranston,  and  went  back  to  break 
my  fast  in  the  diner  in  the  rear  of  the  train,  and  I  waded 
through  three  cars  full  of  people,  not  a  single  person  of 
whom — man,  woman,  or  child — could  talk  American  speech. 
And  as  I  walked  through  the  car  and  looked  at  them,  I  be- 
lieve my  heart  was  like  the  brooding  heart  of  God.  I  wanted 
to  take  them  up  in  my  arms  and  kiss  their  faces.  Three  car- 
loads of  people  who  need  a  thousand  things,  and  what  brought 
them  here?  America  brought  them  here.  They  had  been 
told  a  dream,  and  I  looked  into  their  ey.°s  and  I  wondered 
if  my  eyes  could  say  what  my  heart  could  tell  them,  which 

351 


MILITANT  METHODISM. 

was,  "0  men,  O  women,  0  children,  America,  my  America, 
made  you  dream."  Whenever  I  see  people  like  that  I  think 
of  my  own  father  and  mother — my  mother,  a  girl  in  her  early 
teens  with  golden  hair  that  caught  the  rays  of  the  sun,  and 
eyes  as  blue  as  the  sea  of  the  islands  on  which  she  was  born, 
with  a  heart  as  sweet  as  the  lilies  of  God  on  resurrection 
morning — my  sweet  mother,  a  girl  dreamed  away  to  America. 
Why?  She  thought  it  was  a  better  place  for  a  woman  to 
live — the  Quayles  always  were  smart.  And  my  father — a  lad, 
a  fisherman's  son  with  a  father  in  the  vaults  of  the  great  sea 
for  a  burial-house — my  father,  a  lad,  camle  to  America  in 
steerage!  What  a  good  passage  that  is!  What  made  my 
mother,  a  girl,  come  to  America?  America  made  her  dream. 
What  made  my  father,  a  lad,  come  to  America?  America 
made  him  dream,  and  America  is  making  the  world  dream. 
I  beg  of  you,  when  you  fisticuff  that  foreign  immigration 
and  scoff  at  people  that  do  not  speak  our  speech,  to  think 
that  if  God  were  here  He  would  meet  them  at  the  wharf 
and  say,  "Welcome!"  Let  them  dream.  America  has  ma<Je 
the  world  dream,  and  will  forever. 

America's  influence  for  the  world  has  been  to  get  it  to  be 
big.  This  continent  is  so  big  that  by  the  time  you  get  used 
to  turning  around  in  it  you  have  to  be  a  globe-trotter.  You 
have  to  go  so  far  to  get  anywhere  it  takes  a  long  time  to  do 
it.  What  is  the  trouble  with  the  people  ?  They  are  bad — yes, 
I  know  they  are  bad.  But  what  is  the  trouble  with  the  good 
people  ?  They  are  little — little.  Little,  Littler,  Littlest.  You 
say  that  is  not  the  way  to  compare  it,  but  that  is  the  way 
folks  are,  that  is  all.  What  do  they  need?  They  need  ex- 
pansion. They  need  God  to  get  His  two  hands  inside  of  their 
sky  and  push  it  out.  0  God,  push  our  sky  out  to-night.  They 
need  that,  and  by  the  time  people  have  been  in  America  a 
while,  big  things  seem  normal  and  accurate  and  commensurate 
and  feasible.  And  I  charge  this  company  to  remember  that 
it  is  not  a  happening  that  the  United  States  of  America  and 
Canada  are  the  largest  contributors  to  foreign  missions. 

352 


THE  LARGER  OUTLOOK. 

Why?  Because  we  got  used  to  big  places,  and  the  world 
seems  little  to  us  now.  0  America !  you  have  made  us  familiar 
of  the  planet.  It  is  a  great  matter  to  get  on  speaking  terms 
with  the  planet;  to  think  in  world  dimensions  and  love  in 
world  dimensions.  When  people  do  not  want  to  give  to  mis- 
sions, what  is  the  trouble  ?  They  are  little ;  they  are  not  bad, 
they  are  just  little.  They  ought  to  get  out  into  the  street 
so  they  will  be  bigger;  they  ought  to  get  out  under  the  sky. 
It  is  pretty  hard  to  stay  little  in  America.  It  is  magnificent 
to  be  in  a  country  where  the  world  floods  in  on  you  and  you 
take  it  as  a  matter  of  course. 

America  influences  the  world  because  it  ftas  caught  that 
men  can  be  kings— not  a  man,  not  a  king  settled  down  on  you, 
but  a  king  coming  up  from  you.  If  you  know  a  sublimer 
thing  than  this  you  speak  of  it  when  I  am  through,  namely, 
an  election  day,  when  the  Nation  goes  out,  saying,  "We  are 
pretty  busy  ourselves,  and  we  will  take  some  unoccupied 
brother  and  make  a  President  of  him."  That  is  the  reason 
we  elect  a  President — because  we  are  too  busy  to  take  the 
little  job  ourselves :  that  is  all  there  is  to  it.  Lots  of  us  could 
do  that  business,  and  we  acknowledge  it.  Dare  you  trust  men 
to  rule  themselves  ?  Mexico  can  not.  Are  we  angry  at  Mex- 
ico ?  We  are  not !  Would  we  speak  hastily  to  Mexico  ?  We 
would  not.  But  we  have  a  race  of  people  that  have  shown 
that  a  democracy  may  trust  itself  to  rule. 

I  call  your  attention  to  this,  that  all  the  things  that  I  have 
named  that  are  magnificent  in  our  Republic,  and  more  that 
I  might  have  mentioned — all  of  them  we  learned  of  God.  We 
learned  them  of  Christ.  We  are  retailers  of  second-hand 
material.  Christ  told  them  all  to  us.  He  has  given  them  all 
to  us.  0  America,  live  forever!  0,  my  America,  keep  God's 
Sabbaths.  0,  my  America,  read  God's  Word!  0,  my  Amer- 
ica, love  God's  character!  0,  my  America,  hear  God's  voice! 
0,  my  America,  fall  prone  on  your  face  at  the  feet  of  God's 
Christ!  And  then  a  thousand,  thousand  years  you  shall  live 
to  see  the  sun  of  an  eventful  morning. 
*  353 


MILITANT  METHODISM. 

The  Chinese  Republic  and  Its  Future. 

GEORGE  SHERWOOD  EDDY. 

A  PEW  months  ago  landing  in  China,  at  an  opening  banquet, 
the  young  China  arrayed  in  full  dress,  we  saw  in  that  ban- 
quet the  signs  of  the  new  Republic.  Within  a  year  of  absence 
China  had  suddenly  passed  into  constitutional  government 
and  four  hundred  millions  had  stepped  out  of  the  past  four 
thousand  years  of  history  into  a  modern  Republic.  On  either 
side  of  the  room  were  draped  the  flags  of  our  Republic  and 
the  flag  of  the  Chinese  Republic.  There  were  signs  in  that 
room  that  showed  the  great  awakening  that  has  been  sweep- 
ing over  that  Chinese  nation  and  the  continent  of  Asia.  This 
Republic  has  seen  the  rise  and  fall  of  Nineveh  and  Babylon, 
of  Assyria  and  Persia,  and  of  Rome,  and  the  mushroom 
growth  of  mediaeval  Europe.  This  Republic  has  four  thou- 
sand years  of  past,  with  a  great  future  still  before  her.  She 
will  not  be  deserted  by  Almighty  God  as  she  enters  on  this 
stage  of  constitutional  government.  Do  we  forget  in  our 
pride  and  giant  strength  to-day  that  we  were  once  thirteen 
feeble,  divided  Colonies,  in  debt,  unable  to  develop  our  vast 
resources,  without  a  friend  among  the  nations,  and  God  did 
not  desert  us  in  the  hour  of  our  weakness  and  need?  He 
will  not  desert  the  Chinese.  As  Lincoln  said  of  the  common 
people,  so  we  may  say  of  the  Chinese,  that  God  must  love 
them  because  He  made  so  many  of  them. 

There  were  signs  in  that  room  not  only  of  a  political 
awakening,  but  of  a  great  intellectual  awakening.  There  were 
returned  students  from  Yale  and  Harvard  and  Oxford  and 
Cambridge  and  Berlin  and  Paris  and  Japan  and  the  mission 
schools  of  China  leading  in  every  department  of  the  na- 
tional life.  In  city  after  city  we  found  deserted  temples 
handed  over  to  house  modern  colleges,  the  ancient  examina- 
tion halls  being  torn  down  to  build  the  new  Parliament  build- 
ings and  a  modern  university.  Within  a  month  of  the  treaty 
of  Portsmouth  that  marked  Japan's  victory  over  Russia,  with 

354 


THE  LARGER  OUTLOOK. 

one  stroke  of  that  vermilion  pencil  the  emperor  swept  away 
that  obsolete  system  of  education  that  had  been  in  use  for 
two  thousand  years,  and  adopted  the  modern  principle  of 
education. 

Not  only  signs  of  a  great  political  and  intellectual  awaken- 
ing, but  signs  of  a  great  economic  awakening.  At  my  side 
sat  that  night  a  man  who  might  be  called  the  Andrew  Car- 
negie of  China,  a  Christian  business  man,  running  those  great 
steel  mills  with  five  thousand  Chinese  laborers.  A  decade  or 
so  ago  they  were  picking  up  old  horseshoes  in  London  and 
shipping  them  out  to  China  to  make  thml-rate  plows  for 
those  farmers  in  Central  China.  To-day,  underneath  those 
hills  have  been  discovered  the  greatest  coal  fields  in  the  world. 
In  Shangsi  Province  alone  a  German  authority  estimates 
that  there  is  coal  enough  to  supply  the  world  for  a  thousand 
years.  The  greatest  supply  of  cheap  labor,  and  perhaps  in 
time  potentially  of  skilled  labor,  in  the  world !  There  I  saw 
skilled  Chinese  laborers  handling  thirteen  thousand  horse 
power  machinery  under  electric  control,  turning  out  the  great 
white-hot  steel  rails  that  will  thread  their  way  from  north 
to  south  and  east  to  west,  all  over  the  country. 

But  there  were  signs  that  night,  not  so  much  of  a  great 
awakening  that  was  merely  political  or  economic  or  intel- 
lectual; there  were  signs  of  a  great  religious  awakening  in 
that  Chinese  Republic.  "We  began  up  in  Tientsin,  the  first 
place  in  North  China.  There  about  the  walls  of  that  city, 
where  for  one  hundred  years  they  fought  to  keep  out  the  for- 
eign devils,  we  saw  gathered  that  night  two  thousand  Gov- 
ernment students  in  that  great  Guild  Hall.  "Who  were  those 
men?  Remember,  literati  were  the  brains  of  China,  had 
stood  like  the  great  Gibraltar  of  this  world.  My  friend  in 
China  said  that  if  he  could  have  had  one  man  from  that  class 
of  literati  as  the  result  of  his  life  work  he  would  have  been 
glad  to  give  his  life  to  attain  that  end,  and  especially  so  if 
he  could  get  twelve  leaders  from  among"  them.  There  they 
were,  two  thousand  men,  a  fire  in  every  eye.  These  men  are 

355 


MILITANT  METHODISM. 

concerned  about  something,  about  the  question,  "What  will 
save  China?"  What  is  to  be  our  point  of  contact  with  those 
men?  If  we  say,  "Jesus  Christ  will  save  your  soul,"  they 
are  not  concerned  at  the  beginning  whether  they  have  any 
soul  or  not,  but  about  the  great  question,  What  will  save 
China?  Some  one  asked  me,  "How  do  you  begin  to  approach 
that  class,  prejudiced  as  they  are?"  That  night,  as  we  faced 
those  men,  I  said:  "I  hold  in  my  hand  a  fivefold  problem 
and  a  fivefold  prophecy.  It  is  the  hope  of  China,  it  is  the 
glory  of  China."  They  began  to  wonder  what  was  in 
my  hand.  Then  I  unfolded  the  new  flag  of  the  Chinese  Re- 
public. It  moved  us  to-night  to  see  "Old  Glory"  here;  but 
those  men,  burning  with  a  new  patriotism,  some  of  whom 
had  cut  off  a  finger  to  write  their  petition  for  liberty  in  their 
own  blood,  men  that  would  die  for  China,  as  they  saw  the 
new  flag,  rose  and  burst  into  cheers.  It  touched  their  hearts. 
The  fivefold  problem  had  to  do  with  Tibet,  with  the  question 
whether  Mongolia  was  to  be  divided  between  Russia  and 
Japan,  whether  the  nation  was  to  fall  asunder  and  be  par- 
titioned among  the  nations,  etc. ;  it  was  a  fivefold  prophecy. 
The  blue  on  that  flag  denoted  justice  and  honest  officials; 
the  yellow,  the  pure  gold  of  character;  the  red,  the  blood 
of  sacrifice  that  had  already  been  shed  in  the  land  to  make 
China  free;  and  so  on.  That  led  to  the  further  thought  of 
the  great  sacrifice.  That  flag  was  a  fivefold  call  to  national 
unity,  to  practical  patriotism,  to  social  service,  to  moral  ear- 
nestness, and  to  reality  in  religion.  Those  men,  deeply  con- 
cerned over  the  national  problem,  came  back  the  next  night 
to  hear  about  the  "Need  of  China."  If  I  had  begun  to  talk 
about  sin  they  would  not  care  whether  they  were  sinners  or 
not.  But  I  said:  "As  I  came  across  the  Yellow  River  I 
found  some  dykes  built  by  a  grafting  official.  He  had  made 
the  dykes  so  that  they  would  fall  and  he  could  build  them 
again.  Down  came  a  flood,  and  thousands  of  lives  and  multi- 
tudes of  property  were  destroyed,  and  famine  followed  in 
the  wake.  One  man  sold  China,  one  man  robbed  his  country. 

356 


THE  LAKGER  OUTLOOK. 

How  are  yon  going  to  save  that  province?  Money  won't  do 
it.  He  will  steal  it  as  fast  as  you  make  foreign  loans.  Ma- 
chinery won't  do  it.  Education  won't  do  it.  Nothing  will 
save  the  province  but  that  man's  moral  character.  And  how 
are  you  going  to  reach  that  without  religion?"  They  began 
to  see  that  there  is  a  connection  between  what  will  save  China 
and  moral  character.  For  an  hour  we  pounded  away  on 
dishonesty  and  the  impurity  that  is  ruining  the  officials  and 
students  of  China,  until  these  men  with  growing  conviction 
are  now  ready  to  admit  that  only  living  a  pure  life  and  break- 
ing from  the  bondage  of  sin  can  save  their  country.  The 
next  night  we  spoke  on  the  Hope  of  China.  I  remember  as 
I  went  down  that  night  in  that  bitter,  blinding  winter  storm, 
I  said,  ' '  Nobody  can  come  out  tonight. ' '  But  to  my  surprise 
two  thousand  men  were  back  again,  crowding  the  aisles,  crowd- 
ing the  platform,  I  asked  them  what  was  the  hope  of  China  ? 
Did  they  have  any  hope  of  solving  her  crushing  problems? 
Stand  up  and  tell  us.  But  not  a  man  stood  up.  I  said: 
"I  believe  I  have  found  what  is  the  hope  of  China.  Jesus 
Christ  is  the  only  hope  of  China;  Jesus  Christ  is  the  only 
hope  of  America,  and  the  only  hope  of  the  world."  For 
an  hour  not  a  man  left  the  room.  You  could  have  heard 
a  pin  drop  as  we  told  them  of  Jesus  Christ  and  how  He 
could  save  the  individual  and  the  nation.  Fifteen  hundred 
stayed  for  the  after-meeting,  and  then  we  asked  how  many 
men  would  rise  to  promise  that  they  would  study  those  four 
Gospels  with  open  minds  and  honest  hearts,  attending  the 
Bible  classes;  that  they  would  pray  to  God  for  guidance  and 
help,  and  would  follow  Jesus  Christ  with  honest  conscience.  In 
the  boldness  of  their  faith  one  thousand  of  those  men  stood  up. 
We  had  not  enough  cards  to  sign.  Then  we  had  to  drive  them 
back  and  scare  them  off.  We  said  if  there  was  another  Boxer 
uprising  they  would  be  in  danger.  And  finally  five  hundred 
and  thirty  men  that  nothing  could  affright  came  over  and 
joined  the  Bible  classes  and  began  to  stutV  the  life  of  Christ, 
and  one  hundred  and  nineteen  of  them,  had  been  baptized 

357 


MILITANT  METHODISM. 

and  received  into  the  Churches  within  three  months  of  the 
close  of  that  campaign. 

You  know  what  that  five  hundred  and  thirty  represents? 
There  is  one  of  them.  I  took  a  few  snapshots  as  I  went  across 
China.  A  few  years  ago  that  man  was  a  Confucian  atheist. 
Believing  that  the  need  of  China  was  education,  that  young 
man  resigned  from  the  navy  and  started  an  institution  in 
North  China.  He  became  a  brilliant  educationalist.  My 
friend  Robertson  won  his  friendship  and  love.  When  this  man 
was  appointed  on  the  great  commission  to  study  education  sys- 
tems and  go  back  and  work  reforms  in  China,  Robertson 
asked  him  to  his  house.  As  I  sat  with  him,  he  told  me  how 
on  that  last  night  Robertson  asked  him  if  he  would  kneel 
and  offer  the  first  prayer  of  his  life.  He  told  me  as  he  knelt 
it  seemed  as  if  a  great  light  suddenly  filled  his  soul.  As  he 
described  it,  it  reminded  me  of  the  conversion  of  Saul  of 
Tarsus.  He  arose  a  new  creature  in  Christ,  and  all  the  world 
was  new,  and  that  night  he  could  not  sleep  for  joy.  He  said, 
"I  had  been  like  a  man  without  chart  and  compass  on  a 
dark  and  perilous  sea,  but  now  I  knew  where  I  was  going." 
The  next  day  he  went  back  to  the  city  and  called  together 
his  family  and  friends  and  told  them  why  he  had  become  a 
Christian.  The  next  day  back  to  his  college,  his  students  and 
the  professors  and  trustees  trailing  in  in  their  silken  gowns, 
and  sitting  in  that  great  semi-circular  room,  imagine  this 
young  president  rising  to  resign  his  college  because  he  can 
no  longer  bow  to  that  tablet  of  Confucius.  You  can  imagine 
the  president  of  Yale  or  Harvard  or  Princeton  resigning  be- 
cause he  had  suddenly  become  a  Mormon.  You  can  imagine 
the  thrill  of  horror  that  went  through  those  men  when  this  man 
got  up  and  said  he  could  no  longer  bow  to  any  one  but  Jesus 
Christ.  But  why?  they  said,  and  all  day  he  stood  there  and 
opened  the  Scriptures  and  told  them  why.  The  next  day 
at  Peking  he  told  the  officials  there,  and  one  of  them  said 
to  him :  ' '  Mr.  Chan,  to  bow  to  that  tablet  is  merely  a  matter 
of  form ;  we  can  not  let  you  go.  Do  not  give  up  the  college. 

358 


THE  LARGER  OUTLOOK. 

"We  can  not  spare  you."  He  said :  "Mr.  Yen,  you  are  the  best 
friend  I  have  on  earth,  but  I  can  not  do  that ;  One  has  come 
to  dwell  in  my  heart,  and  I  can  not  bow  to  any  one  but  Him, 
so  I  must  give  up  my  college."  And  he  did.  Across  America 
visiting  our  colleges,  across  Europe,  around  the  world,  and 
back  to  give  his  report — called  back  now  as  the  Christian 
president  of  that  institution,  where  never  again  will  men 
have  to  bow  to  that  Confucian  tablet.  I  saw  there  the  stu- 
dents from  eighteen  provinces  under  that  great  leader — the 
Arnold,  not  of  Rugby,  but  of  North  China — and  if  you  could 
have  seen  them  night  after  night  listening*with  wide-open 
ears  to  this  leader  as  he  earnestly  witnessed  for  Jesus  Christ 
and  what  He  was  to  him,  and  what  He  could  do  for  China, 
you  would  have  seen  the  power  of  the  single  life  of  a  leader 
like  that. 

But  he  is  not  alone.  I  went  one  day  into  Peking,  that 
city  of  two  million  people,  that  city  in  which  Sir  Robert  Hart 
remembered  in  his  own  lifetime  seeing  men  who  had  been 
drowned  in  the  main  streets  in  the  rainy  season  in  the  pools 
of  water.  Now  they  have  paved  streets  there,  and  over  these 
same  roads  we  were  driven  in  Chinese  taxicabs  to  keep  our 
engagements  in  the  colleges  thrown  open  to  the  public  by 
the  Government — twenty  colleges  thrown  open  for  the  first 
time  to  the  Christian  message.  There  where  last  year  the 
emperor  ascended  those  great  steps  of  the  high  altar,  now 
instead  of  the  emperor  praying  for  the  people,  a  day  of  prayer 
is  called  by  the  National  Republic  of  China  that  the  people 
may  pray  for  the  Government  and  approach  directly  to  God 
in  heaven.  Down  from  Pekin  to  another  city.  I  had  longed 
to  visit  that  city.  It  was  there  that  my  friend  and  class- 
mate back  at  Yale  twenty  years  ago,  Horace  Pitkin,  had 
laid  down  his  life.  He  had  never  had  a  convert.  Cut  off 
in  the  flower  of  his  youth.  A  mob  had  gathered  at  the  gate 
to  kill  him.  He  sat  that  last  night  with  his  Chinese  friend, 
a  fellow  worker,  and  sent  his  last  message  -ix»  his  wife,  at  home 
sick  in  America.  He  said  to  tell  her  that  God  was  with  him 

359 


MILITANT  METHODISM. 

at  the  last;  that  His  peace  was  his  consolation.  "Tell  her 
to  send  our  little  son  Horace  to  Yale,  where  I  studied,  and 
tell  my  boy  twenty-five  years  from  now,  when  he  becomes  a 
man,  to  come  out  and  take  up  my  work  for  China.  For 
China  will  yet  believe. ' '  He  had  given  his  life.  He  had  given 
his  fortune,  and  he  had  never  had  a  convert,  and  yet  he  said, 
"Tell  my  only  son  to  come  out  and  take  up  my  work;  they 
will  believe  my  son. ' '  They  showed  me  where  the  mob  broke 
through  the  gate;  where  he  fell  wounded  trying  to  defend 
the  women;  where  they  cut  off  his  head  and  hung  it  as  a 
trophy  over  the  arch  of  the  city  gate.  We  had  twenty-four 
hours  of  opportunity  there  and  no  more,  and  0,  how  one 
longed  to  preach  and  get  at  those  men  as  hour  after  hour 
they  listened!  It  seemed  as  if  they  would  not  go.  At  last 
I  said,  "How  many  here  where  you  killed  Pitkin  and  where 
the  missionaries  fell,  how  many  of  you  will  rise  to  the  floor 
and  accept  Jesus  Christ  the  Lord  and  Master  of  those  whom 
you  slew,  how  many  will  be  baptized  and  join  the  Church,  cost 
what  it  may,  even  though  it  should  cost  your  lives,  as  it  did 
those  whom  you  slew?"  Ninety  men  arose  out  of  that  audi- 
ence, and  some  of  them  have  already  been  received  into  the 
Christian  Church.  I  have  not  time  to  go  through  the  fourteen 
cities,  but  we  will  take  the  last  one,  down  in  Foochow,  the 
most  conservative  of  all  those  cities — the  student  audiences  in 
Japan  averaged  eight  hundred,  in  India  one  thousand,  but  in 
China  they  average  two  thousand  a  night  all  across  that  Re- 
public, and  when  we  came  to  that  last  city  it  was  even  greater. 
We  went  up  to  the  great  Guild  Hall,  and  an  hour  before 
the  meeting  was  announced  two  thousand  men  were  packing 
the  hall,  filling  every  seat,  and  two  thousand  more  were  gath- 
ered outside  in  an  overflow  meeting,  and  hundreds  more  were 
kept  outside  by  the  police.  We  would  seat  two  thousand  in 
the  hall  and  send  them  out  the  back  door,  and  bring  in  two 
thousand  more,  and  so  go  on.  All  that  week  five  thousand 
students  a  day  listened  to  the  message  of  Jesus  Christ  after 
the  one  hundred  years  that  we  had  waited  for  that  oppor- 

360 


THE  LARGER  OUTLOOK. 

trinity.  It  seemed  as  if  the  leaders  of  that  city  were  moved. 
The  Parliament  adjourned  and  asked  us  to  come  up  and  hold 
a  meeting  for  them,  which  we  did.  The  Board  of  Trade  at- 
tended one  meeting  in  a  body.  Thirteen  Confucian  pro- 
fessors of  the  Government  college — by  their  invitation  we 
visited  the  city,  and  they  closed  their  colleges  one  afternoon 
and  asked  every  student  to  go,  and  postponed  the  Govern- 
ment examinations  so  there  would  be  nothing  to  interfere 
with  the  evangelistic  meeting.  They  sat  on  the  platform  and 
gave  us  such  backing  as  I  never  saw  in  America  or  in  any 
Christian  country,  and  at  dinner  raised  the^question  of  what 
we  could  do  to  save  their  young  men  morally,  as  the  restraints 
of  the  old  religion  were  losing  their  hold  and  their  young 
men  were  in  danger  of  falling  into  infidelity  and  immorality 
like  the  students  of  a  neighboring  nation.  If  you  had  told 
the  missionaries  killed  that  day  by  the  angry  mob  that  within 
two  decades  China  would  be  a  Republic  under  constitutional 
government,  that  in  a  meeting  announced  for  women  students 
two  thousand  women  with  unbound  feet  would  come  out  to 
hear  a  lecture  on  the  wireless  telegraph  and  receive  messages 
from  the  Chinese  navy  of  the  coast  and  then  demand  an 
evangelistic  meeting  for  themselves,  such  as  the  men  had, 
and  come  in  larger  numbers  to  the  religious  meeting 
than  they  did  to  the  science  lecture,  could  they  have  believed 
the  prophecy?  But  the  miracle  has  happened  and  China  is 
open  to-day.  Take  the  next  province — the  same  story  can  be 
told.  0  men,  China  to-day  is  open,  province  after  province, 
capital  after  capital,  the  four  hundred  millions  of  that  Re- 
public, and  what  are  we  going  to  do  about  it?  There  is  a 
challenge  to  us.  China  will  turn  in  this  decade  in  one  of 
three  directions :  Either  toward  a  revival  of  the  old  religions, 
as  India  did,  in  a  reactionary  movement;  or  she  will  turn 
towards  agnosticism,  infidelity,  and  immorality,  as  for  a  time 
Japan  did;  or  she  will  turn  towards  Christianity,  as  Korea 
did.  What  will  be  the  future  of  that-tTreat  Republic?  I 
believe  it  depends  more  than  anything  else  upon  this  great 

361 


MILITANT  METHODISM. 

sister  Republic  across  the  sea.  "Freely  we  have  received, 
let  us  freely  give."  God  hath  given  to  us  this  gospel.  God 
has  given  to  us  the  means  of  lifting  that  great  Republic  up 
out  of  darkness  into  His  marvelous  light.  Will  we  give  them 
the  chance? 

But  I  close.  I  can  not  forget,  as  I  close,  the  price  that 
has  been  paid  to  open  that  nation.  I  have  in  my  hand  a 
picture  of  a  tree  that  I  journeyed  far  into  the  interior  of 
China  to  see.  Under  that  tree,  back  in  the  Boxer  uprising, 
forty-six  of  our  missionaries  were  drawn  up  in  line  to  be 
beheaded — first  the  men,  then  the  women,  then  the  little  chil- 
dren. First  they  called  up  one  of  the  missionaries.  His  wife 
clung  to  him,  but  he  put  her  gently  aside,  knelt  down  and 
bowed  his  head  to  have  it  severed  from  his  body.  Last  of  all 
there  were  two  little  girls  in  the  line  who  came  from  a  family 
who  were  friends  of  mine.  As  I  visited  that  home  a  while 
ago  the  aged  grandparents  told  me  of  their  little  grand- 
children sacrificed  in  China.  They  said,  "We  do  not  be- 
grudge them;  China  will  yet  believe."  And  although  it  was 
almost  too  sacred  for  any  strange  eye  to  see,  they  showed 
me  the  last  letter  written  home  by  their  daughter  before  she 
died.  Her  girls  had  been  lost,  her  relatives  gone;  and  she, 
about  to  die,  wrote  this  letter  home.  Heroism  itself.  And 
here  is  what  she  wrote : 

"My  dear,  dear  ones:  I  have  tried  to  gather  courage  to 
write  you  once  more.  How  can  I  tell  you  the  terrible  details 
of  these  days.  I  would  rather  spare  you.  The  dear  ones  at 

C Y ,  including  our  lovely  daughter,  are  gone. 

And  tidings  from  T Y tell  of  an^uprising  there. 

We  are  now  waiting  our  call  home.  I  am  preparing  for  the 
end  very  quietly  and  calmly.  The  Lord  is  wonderful  and 
He  will  not  fail  me.  I  was  very  restless  and  excited  while 
there  was  some  chance  of  life,  but  God  has  taken  away  that 
and  now  I  must  try  to  meet  my  end  calmly,  because  the  pain 
will  soon  be  over.  My  little  baby  will  go  with  me.  I  think 
God  will  give  her  to  me  in  heaven,  and  my  dear  mother  will 

362 


THE  LARGER  OUTLOOK. 

be  so  glad  to  see  us.  I  can  not  imagine  the  Savior's  welcome, 
but  that  will  compensate  for  all  these  days  of  suspense.  Dear 
loved  ones,  live  near  to  God,  cling  less  closely  to  earth.  I 
would  like  to  send  a  special  message  to  each  of  you,  but  it 
presses  me  too  much.  I  must  keep  calm  during  these  hours. 
I  do  not  regret  coming  to  China,  but  I  am  sorry  I  have  done 
so  little." 

There  where  forty-six  laid  down  their  lives  under  that 
tree  I  took  another  picture.  Where  the  officers  killed  the 
missionaries  the  Chinese  officials  had  a  Christian  meeting 
with  Christian  representatives  living  in  the  abandoned  Bud- 
dhist temple,  and  in  a  meeting  held  there  one  hundred  and 
fifty-nine  men  rose  as  inquirers  for  Christ — under  the  tree 
where  they  had  been  killing  our  people  thirteen  short  years 
ago.  We  have  gained  more  there  in  the  last  decade  than  in 
a  century  previous,  and  to-night  China  is  calling  to  us  in  her 
unconscious  need,  "Come  over  and  help  us."  If  one  man 
like  Livingstone  could  stake  his  life  against  the  continent,  can 
not  we  place  our  lives  against  that  great  Republic  of  China? 
I  can  hear  Livingstone  on  that  last  day  almost,  looking  out 
at  that  dark  continent  and  writing  in  his  diary:  "My  Jesus, 
my  King,  my  Life,  my  All.  I  again  dedicate  my  whole  self 
to  Thee,  Lord  Jesus,  and  grant  that  if  possible  I  may  finish 
my  work. ' '  Shall  we  not  in  this  closing  night  say  these  words 
to  Him  as  these  calls  have  come  to  us  from  China,  from  Asia, 
from  a  world  of  need  and  sinning  and  suffering  men:  "My 
Jesus,  my  King,  my  Life,  my  All.  I  dedicate  my  whole  self 
to  Thee.  Accept  me,  Lord  Jesus,  and  grant  that  I  may  fulfill 
my  work?" 


Ml 


IV.    CLOSING  WORDS. 

WILLIAM  F.  ANDERSON. 

WHEN  Mr.  Fisher  stated  that  it  would  fall  to  my  lot  to  pre- 
side this  evening  and  that  he  would  expect  a  few  closing 
words,  immediately  it  occurred  to  me  that  certainly  there 
could  be  no  way  of  closing  such  a  Convention  as  this  quite 
so  appropriately  as  with  some  passage  of  God's  Word.  Quick 
as  the  lightning's  flash  this  brief  passage  came  into  my  mind : 
"I  have  planted;  Apollos  watered,  but  God  gave  the  in- 
crease. ' '  What  an  occasion  this  Convention  has  been  for  the 
planting  of  the  seed  of  the  Kingdom !  And  what  great  seed 
has  been  planted  during  the  hours  of  this  marvelous  gath- 
ering! Have  you  noticed  it?  I  have  heard  nearly  every 
address  that  has  been  made  from  this  platform  from,  the 
beginning  of  the  first  day  until  now.  One  note  has  been 
common  to  all,  viz.,  Jesus  Christ  is  ordained  of  God  to  be 
King  over  all  the  earth.  However  it  may  be  elsewhere,  cer- 
tainly it  must  have  been  apparent  to  every  listener  that  there 
is  no  slurring  of  the  divinity  of  our  Lord  here.  That  how- 
ever it  may  be  elsewhere,  there  is  no  abatement  of  our  faith 
in  the  belief  that  Jesus  Christ  is  the  Savior  of  the  individual 
and  the  Redeemer  of  all  mankind.  If  the  dominant  note  of 
the  Convention  were  summed  up  in  one  passage  of  Scripture, 
it  would  be  this:  "Jesus  Christ  the  power  of  God  and  the 
wisdom  of  God."  This  Convention  has  written  that  great 
Scripture  anew  upon  the  banners  of  Methodism. 

Provision  has  been  made  likewise  for  the  watering  of  this 
seed  in  the  report  of  the  Committee  on  Policy,  for  these 
great  truths  are  to  be  carried  down  to  the  entire  Church. 
One  thing  is  very  certain — we  can  never  be  the  same  men 
that  we  were  when  we  came  here.  If  we  are  not  better  men, 
if  we  are  not  more  efficient  servants  of  Jesus  Christ  from 

364 


THE  LARGER  OUTLOOK. 

this  time  forward,  then  we  shall  not  be  such  good  men  as 
we  have  been.  Then  we  shall  be  less  efficient  men.  To  dwell 
under  the  inspiration  of  the  open  vision  of  this  great  Con- 
vention and  then  to  go  away  and  not  put  it  into  actual  prac- 
tical application  in  every  community  is  to  deteriorate  in  the 
quality  of  our  Christian  experience  and  service. 

Our  Book  Concern  publishes  a  little  volume  entitled,  ' '  The 
Unrealized  Logic  of  Religion. ' '  The  title  of  that  little  volume 
suggests  the  unrealized  possibilities  of  Methodism.  If  every 
man  of  us  should  go  from  this  mountain  top  of  vision  to  do 
his  best  for  the  unrealized  possibilities  of  ow  branch  of  the 
Church,  certainly  it  would  count  tremendously  in  the  bring- 
ing in  of  the  Kingdom  of  our  Christ  in  all  the  nations  of  the 
earth. 

A  friend  of  mine,  a  Young  Men's  Christian  Association 
railroad  secretary,  gave  me  this  account  of  an  incident  at  the 
noonday  prayer-meeting  of  the  railroad  men.  One  of  their 
members  came  in  all  begrimed  and  besooted  from  the  engine. 
When  he  had  opportunity  to  speak  he  arose  and  said,  "I 
hope  you  will  excuse  me,  fellows,  for  coming  in  this  condition, 
but  I  just  had  to  come.  I  just  got  in  on  the  express  from 
Albany.  When  we  left  Albany  we  were  away  late.  I  ex- 
pected we  would  be  late  in  coming  into  the  Grand  Central, 
but  when  I  got  my  orders  from  the  train  dispatcher  I  was 
instructed  to  bring  her  in  on  time.  I  did  not  think  it  was 
possible.  When  I  had  a  straight  piece  of  road  before  me 
I  pulled  out  the  throttle  and  let  her  go,  and  boys,  I  brought 
her  in  on  the  minute.  I  was  sitting  there  in  the  cab  looking 
out  of  the  window  when  to  my  surprise  I  saw  the  president 
of  the  road  among  the  passengers.  He  came  along  and  when 
he  got  close  to  the  cab  window  he  stopped  and  took  off  his 
hat,  and  reaching  up,  took  me  by  the  hand  and  said,  'A  very 
good  run,  sir;  a  very  good  run.'  Boys,  I  feel  mighty  good 
about  it.  I  had  no  time  to  clean  up.  If  I  had  waited  to  do 
that  I  would  have  been  too  late  for  the -Meeting,  so  I  came 
as  I  was."  Then  he  continued:  "I  want  to  draw  a  lesson 

365 


MILITANT  METHODISM. 

from  the  incident.  We  are  all  making  a  run,  and  I  want  to 
pledge  to  you,  while  the  inspiration  is  upon  me,  a  new  fealty 
to  the  ideal  that  in  the  run  we  are  making  for  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ  we  will  do  our  best  to  make  it  a  good  run."  The 
time  is  short.  What  we  do  we  must  do  quickly.  May  there 
come  to  us  the  appeal  in  the  need  of  the  world  and  in  the 
crying  conditions  of  foreign  lands,  to  make  in  the  year  to 
come  and  in  all  the  years  to  come  a  good  run  for  the  Captain 
of  our  salvation,  that  when  we  shall  reach  the  end  of  the 
journey,  our  Lord  may  say  to  each  of  us,  "Well  done,  thou 
good  and  faithful  servant." 

It  has  been  driven  home  to  our  hearts  and  consciences 
again  and  again  and  again  during  these  days  of  high  privilege 
that  we  must  depend  upon  God  for  the  increase.  We  have 
learned  nothing  about  life  if  we  have  not  learned  that  it  is 
too  much  for  us  alone.  We  have  learned  nothing  about  the 
Christian  enterprises  with  which  we  have  to  do  if  we  have 
not  learned  that  these  problems  are  too  big  for  our  solution. 
Again  and  again  and  again  each  of  us  has  been  brought  to  the 
place  in  our  experience  where  with  God's  servant  of  old  we 
have  cried  out  in  agony  of  soul,  "Who  is  sufficient  for  these 
things?"  We  never  really  find  the  solution  of  any  problem 
until  we  give  full  play  to  the  divine  element.  To  practice 
the  presence  of  God  is  to  find  the  secret  of  the  solution  of 
the  hardest  question  with  which  we  have  to  deal.  To  have 
that  faith  that  will  prove  God  is  to  find  the  key  to  the  open 
door.  And  this  is  our  hope.  And  this  is  our  faith  as  the 
result  of  this  great  Convention.  We  have  stood  face  to  face 
with  God.  We  go  out  from  this  place  to  live  the  God  life 
and  to  prove  God's  grace  and  to  put  Almighty  God  into  our 
efforts  for  the  redemption  of  our  community  and  for  the 
salvation  of  all  the  world.  And  with  that  power,  even  the 
gates  of  hell  can  not  prevail  against  us. 


366 


PART  VI. 
Special  Features. 


Closing  jpragfr  of  iBtertjop  Cranston* 


NOW,  O  God,  are  we  Thy  sons,  and  it  doth  not  yet  appear  what  we  shall  be. 
but  we  know  that  when  He  shall  appear  we  shall  be  like  Him.  And  He  has 
appeared  unto  us,  every  one,  and  our  desire  to  be  like  Him  is  stronger 
to-night  than  ever  before.  We  know  that  He  has  spoken  by  His  Spirit,  and 
we  know  that  He  has  spoken  by  the  messengers  whom  He  has  commissioned 
to  give  us  the  vision  of  a  perishing  world  and  the  needs  of  a  great  country 
languishing  in  its  faith  because  Thy  sons  have  not  been  altogether  true  to  their 
calling.  O  God,  lay  Thy  hands  upon  our  heads  to-night,  commission  every 
one  of  us  anew.  O  blessed  Spirit  of  God,  attune  our  hearts  again  to-night, 
and  let  us  feel  the  thrill  of  the  new  life  and  of  the  reinspired  purpose  by  which 
Thou  art  to  move  the  world  and  lift  it  nearer  to  Thyself.  Let  it  not  be  to  us 
too  great  a  thing  to  expect  that  our  God  shall  bring  us  the  victory;  only  Thou 
our  Leader  be,  blessed  Christ,  and  we  still  shall  follow  Thee. 

Keep  the  fires  burning,  O  Divine  Spirit,  keep  the  fires  burning  in  our 
hearts;  let  them  not  for  one  moment  languish;  let  not  their  lights  fail;  let  not 
their  heat  be  killed,  but  may  we  carry  from  this  place  to  every  State  in  this 
great  Nation  the  inspirations  that  have  come  to  us  here.  And  may  our  Church 
and  all  our  sister  Churches,  called  of  God  to  the  same  great  task  —  the  regener- 
ation of  men  to  the  ends  of  the  earth  —  prove  by  new  works  and  by  renewed 
zeal  that  victory  is  with  them  that  believe.  Give  us,  O  God,  the  commanding 
faith,  faith  that  will  take  no  denial,  and  may  we  be  able  to  speak  to  our  people 
in  such  terms  as  shall  communicate  to  them  Thy  will,  and  make  them  to  feel 
that  the  words  have  been  given  us  of  God,  and  that  back  of  the  words  there 
is  the  command  of  the  Leader  and  the  Spirit  of  the  Omnipotent  God.  "We 
can  do  all  things  through  Christ,  who  strengtheneth  us." 

The  Lord  take  charge  of  us.  Thou  hast  kept  us  in  safety  during  these 
blessed  days.  Let  every  one  journey  home  under  Thy  care,  and  may  the 
voices  which  have  here  been  inspired  anew  fail  not  in  any  part  of  the  message, 
and  as  the  vision  grows  upon  us  may  our  zeal  for  Christ  become  more  and 
more  commanding  over  our  own  actions  until  it  shall  consume  us  in  a  passion 
of  sacrifice  to  accomplish  the  great  purposes  of  this  Convention,  which  are 
the  purposes  of  God.  Amen. 


368 


Special  Features. 

ALWAYS  in  such  gatherings  as  this  there  are  many  highly 
important  matters  that  do  not  fall  into  natural  divisions. 
Such  are  the  items  reserved  under  this  heading  of  Special 
Features.  The  Convention  organization  and  program,  the 
music,  resolutions,  committees,  methods  of  publicity,  the  offer- 
ing, are  here  gathered  together  as  a  final  sectien  of  the  book. 
There  may  be  some  things  missing  which  many  will  think 
ought  to  be  included.  But  pages  fill  up  more  rapidly  than 
one  would  imagine,  and  before  one  is  aware  of  it  that  last  page 
permitted  by  the  printer  rustles  noisily  to  its  place  on  the 
desk  and  cries,  "Be  brief!"  It  is  hoped  that  nothing  of  pre- 
eminent importance  has  been  omitted.  Where  something 
seems  to  have  slipped  by,  read  it  into  your  own  copy  as  your 
memory  furnishes  the  data. 


THE  CONVENTION  ORGANIZATION. 

THE  National  Convention  of  Methodist  Men  was  not  a  mass-meeting,  but  a 
representative  gathering.  Admission  to  all  sessions  was  by  credentials  only. 
No  seats  were  open  to  the  general  public.  Representatives  were  present  from 
among  the  following:  The  Board  of  Bishops;  General  Conference  Officers i 
Members  General  Missionary  Committees;  Members  of  Benevolent  Boards; 
Educators  and  Secretaries;  Editors;  District  Superintendents;  Pastors;  Dis- 
trict Missionary  Secretaries;  Laymen,  including  trustees,  stewards,  Sunday- 
school  superintendents,  Brotherhood  men,  class  leaders,  Epworth  League 
officers,  adult  Bible-class  members,  members  of  missionary  committees,  leaders 
in  the  local  Church;  Foreign  Missionaries  on  Furlough;  Home  Missio:  aries. 
The  Convention  was  under  the  direction  of  the  Laymen's  Missionary 
Movement  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  and  had  the  co-operation  of 
the  General  Conference  Commission  on  Finance;  General  Conference  Com- 
mission on  Evangelism;  Board  of  Foreign  Missions;  Board  of  Home  Missions 
and  Church  Extension;  Freedmen's  Aid  Society;  Board  of  Sunday  Schools; 
Board  of  Education;  American  Bible  Society;  Church  Temperance  Society; 
The  Methodist  Brotherhood;  The  Publishing  Interes'  of  the  Church;  The 
Board  of  Bishops;  General  Laymen's  Association;  Methodist  Federation  for 
Social  Service;  and  Epworth  League  Board  of  Control. 

24  369 


MILITANT  METHODISM. 

But  the  head  and  directing  genius  of  the  efforts  which  brought  together 
this  great  body  of  men  was  Fred  B.  Fisher,  General  Secretary  of  the  Laymen's 
Missionary  Movement  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church.  It  was  his  bound- 
less faith  and  tireless  labors  which  made  possible  this  new  landmark  in  Meth- 
odist history.  In  New  York,  he  was  assisted  by  a  Convention  Committee 
composed  of  S.  Earl  Taylor,  James  R.  Joy,  E.  W.  Halford,  J.  Edgar  Leay- 
craft,  Frank  A.  Home,  and  Ralph  Welles  Keeler,  while  his  local  force  at  Indian- 
apolis was  generaled  by  Hon.  Charles  Warren  Fairbanks  and  Bishop  David  H. 
Moore,  Co-Chairmen  of  the  Local  Convention  Committee.  The  following 
chairmen  of  local  sub-committees  had  each  a  large  force  under  them :  J.  Frank 
Hanly,  Reception;  L.  C.  Bentley,  Place  of  Meeting;  E.  R.  Hisey,  Exhibits; 
Frank  C.  Jordan,  Finance;  H.  Foster  Clippinger,  Publicity.  C.  E.  Flynn  was 
Secretary  of  Local  General  Committee;  Win.  C.  Higharu,  Jr.,  served  as  Local 
Executive  Secretary,  and  H.  B.  Dickson  as  Convention  Secretary. 


PROGRAM  NATIONAL  CONVENTION  OF  METHODIST 

MEN. 

TOMLINSON  HALL,  INDIANAPOLIS,  IND.,  OCTOBER  28  TO  31,  1913. 
TUESDAY,  OCTOBER  28th. 

MORNING. 
J.  EDGAR  LEATCKAFT  PRESIDING. 

Intercession,  led  by Bishop  David  H.  Moore. 

Greeting,  by Joshua  Stansfield. 

THEME:  "OuB  GREAT  COMMISSION." 
The  Central  Task  of  the  Church  of  Christ.  .Robert  E.  Speer. 

Methodism's  Mission  and  Message Bishop  William  Frazer  McDowell. 

Methodism's  Achievements  and  Larger  Op- 
portunities   Bishop  John  L.  Nuelsen. 

Convention  Organization. 

AFTERNOON. 

BISHOP  CRANSTON  PRESIDING. 

Intercession,  led  by Bishop  Robert  Mclntyre. 

THEME:  "THE  CALX.  TO  ADVANCE." 

In  the  Circulation  of  the  Scriptures William  I.  Haven. 

In  Temperance  Reform Clarence  True  Wilson. 

370 


SPECIAL  FEATURES. 

In  Sunday  Schools Edgar  Blake. 

In  Education Thomas  Nicholson. 

In  Freedmen's  Aid P.  J.  Maveety. 

In  Home  Missions  and  Church  Extension.  '  YYaru  Platt' 


(Ward: 
(C.  M. 


Boswell, 
In  Foreign  Missions W.  F.  Oldham. 

EVENING. 

BISHOP  JOHN  W.  HAMILTON  PRESIDING. 
Intercession,  led  by Bishop  William  Burt. 

THEME:  "THE  CITY,  NATION,  AND  WOULD." 

American  Cities  and  the  City  of  God Bishop  William  F.  Anderson. 

New  Americans  for  a  New  America Bishop  Edwin  H.  Hughes. 

An  Awakened  World  a  Challenge  to  Meth- 
odist Men Bishop  Homer  C.  Stuntz. 

WEDNESDAY.  OCTOBER  29th. 
MORNING. 

BISHOP  CHARLES  W.  SMITH  PRESIDING. 

Intercession,  led  by Bishop  Napthali  Luccock. 

THEME:.  "THE  NEED  FOR  A  LARGER  PROGRAM." 

The  Drift  of  the  Church W.  B.  Hollingshead. 

The  Size  and  Complexity  of  the  Organiza- 
tion to  be  Moved . .  .S.  Earl  Taylor. 

The  Proposed  Remedy J.  B.  Trimble. 

The  Leadership  for  the  Introduction  of  the 

New  Financial  Plan John  Lowe  Fort. 

How  May  Our  Denomination  Measure  Up  to 

the  Opportunities  of  the  Hour? 

U.  G.  Leazenby,      John  T.  Stone, 
Dillon  Bronson,       Alexander  Bennett, 
Frank  C.  Evans,     Thomas  S.  Lippy, 
Robert  E.  Jones,     W.  F.  Whelan, 
S.  R.  Smith,  D.  D.  Forsyth. 

O.  F.  Hypes. 

Appointment  of  Committee  on  Denominational  Policy. 

371 


MILITANT  METHODISM. 

AFTERNOON. 
BISHOP  JOSEPH  F.  BERRY  PRESIDING. 

Intercession,  led  by Bishop  Frank  M.  Bristol. 

THEME:  "WHAT  SOME  OF  THE  DENOMINATIONS  HAVE  DONE." 

The  Southern  Presbyterians C.  A.  Rowland. 

The  Disciples  of  Christ ; A.  E.  Cory. 

The  United  Presbyterians J.  Campbell  White. 

Episcopal  Residential  Area  and  Sectional  Conferences. 

EVENING. 
BISHOP  FREDERICK  D.  LEETE  PRESIDING. 

Intercession,  led  by Bishop  W.  P.  Thirkield. 

THEME:  "THE  SUMMONS  OF  THE  TIME." 

To  Social  Service Bishop  F.  J.  McConnell. 

To  Civic  Righteousness A.  W.  Leonard. 

To  World  Conquest J.  Campbell  White. 

THURSDAY,  OCTOBER  30th. 
MORNING. 

BISHOP  THEODORE  S.  HENDERSON  PRESIDING. 

Intercession,  led  by Bishop  Richard  J.  Cooke. 

THEME:  "ACTUALIZING  THE  PROGRAM." 

The  United  Brethren. .  .  J  Bbh°P  Howard' 

(  Dr.  S.  S.  Hough. 

How  Best  Relate  the  Existing  Organiza- 
tions to  the  New  Program Frank  A.  Home,      W.  F.  Sheridan, 

H.  C.  Jennings,        I.  Garland  Perm, 
Harry  F.  Ward,       W.  S.  Bovard, 
J.  O.  Randall. 
One  Fixed  Purpose  in  the  Life  of  the  Church. .  W.  E.  Doughty. 

AFTERNOON. 
JOHN  A.  PATTEN  PRESIDING. 

Intercession,  led  by President  George  R.  Grose. 

THEME:  "THE  NEW  DAY." 

For  Social  Reform President  Herbert  Welch. 

For  the  Christian  Citizen Judge  Ira  E.  Robinson. 

For  Evangelism Dean  L.  J.  Birney. 

Sectional  Conferences  for  District  Superintendents,  Pastors,  Brotherhood 
Men,  Sunday  School  Superintendents. 

372 


SPECIAL  FEATURES. 

EVENING. 

PRESIDENT  A.  W.  HARRIS  PRESIDING. 

DEVOTIONS. 
THEME:  "THE  LAYMAN'S  PLACE  OF  POWER." 

What  would  You  be  Worth  if  You  Lost  Your  Money? 

George  Inn.es. 
The  Witness  of  Laymen  to  the  Supernatural  Gospel 

Fred  B.  Smith. 

FRIDAY,  OCTOBER  31st.  ^ 

MORNING. 

J.  EDGAR  LEAYCRAFT  PRESIDING. 
Intercession,  led  by  ......................  Bishop  T.  B.  Neely. 

THEME:  "METHODISM'S  LARGER  OUTLOOK." 
For  Education  ..........................  President  W.  H.  Crawford. 

For  Christian  Literature  ..................  David  G.  Downey. 

Adoption  of  Denominational  Policy  and  Sup- 
plementary Report,   Presented  for  the 
Committee  by  .......................  Bishop  W.  F.  McDowell. 

Raising  of  Budget  to  Propagate  the  Convention  Program  Throughout 
the  Church  for  Two  Years. 

AFTERNOON. 

BISHOP  LUTHER  B.  WILSON  PRESIDING. 
Intercession,  led  by  ......................  Bishop  Luther  B.  Wilson. 

THEME:  "METHODISM'S  LARGER  LIFE." 

*'  B« 


The  Superannuates  .  .  .  „ 

Marvin  Campbell. 

The  Deaconess  Work  .....................  D.  W.  Howell. 

The  Church  at  Large  .....................  Bishop  W.  O.  Shepard. 

A  United  Church  a  Conquering  Church     .  .  George  P.  Eckman. 
The    Ownership    and    Lordship    of    Jesus 

Christ  ..............................  George  Sherwood  Eddy. 

Closing  Words,  by  the  Chairman  ..........  Bishop  Luther  B.  Wilson. 

373 


MILITANT  METHODISM. 

EVENING. 

BISHOP  WILLIAM  F.  ANDERSON  PRESIDING. 

Intercession,  led  by President  William  Arnold  Shanklin. 

THEME:  "THE  LARGER  OUTLOOK  FOR  THE  OCCIDENT  AND  THE  ORIENT." 

The    American    Republic    a    World    In- 
fluence   Bishop  W.  A.  Quayle. 

The  Chinese  Republic  and  Its  Future George  Sherwood  Eddy. 

Closing  Message,  by  the  Chairman Bishop  William  F.  Anderson. 

Closing  Prayer,  by Bishop  Earl  Cranston. 

Final  Adjournment. 

NOON  PRAYER  AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  AND  SAILORS' 
MONUMENT. 

ONE  of  the  most  impressive  sights  seen  in  Indianapolis  in  years  was  that  of 
the  march  of  the  Convention  delegates  to  the  Soldiers'  and  Sailors'  Monument, 
after  the  adjournment  of  the  morning  session. 

Here,  massed  against  the  tribute  to  those  who  half  a  century  ago  gave 
themselves  up  for  the  flag  of  the  Nation,  these  Methodist  soldiers  of  the  cross 
of  Jesus  Christ  sang  hymns  of  praise  for  blessings  past  and  songs  of  hope  for 
strength  for  battles  yet  unfought.  And  while  the  hundreds  of  busy  passers-by 
stopped  in  their  noonday  rush  and  quiet  reigned  in  the  noisy  city  circle,  Bishop 
Edwin  H.  Hughes  led  the  assembly  in  prayer,  they  uniting  with  him  in  conclu- 
sion in  the  Lord's  Prayer. 

THE  CONVENTION  MUSIC. 

THE  music  of  the  Convention  was  one  of  its  delightful  and  inspiring  features. 
Mr.  C.  M.  Keeler  acted  as  precentor  for  the  congregational  singing,  with  the 
Rev.  Harry  B.  Reddick  at  the  piano  and  Mr.  Paul  T.  Smith  accompanying 
on  the  cornet.  The  special  musical  numbers  were  furnished  by  the  well-known 
North  Indiana  Conference  Quartette:  Rev.  Earl  Naftzger,  first  tenor;  Rev. 
I^eslie  J.  Naftzger,  second  tenor;  Rev.  Dan  H.  Guild,  Barytone,  and  Rev. 
Fred  F.  Thornburg,  bass.  The  Claflin  University  Quintet:  Arthur  Rivers, 
Willie  Asbury,  Edmund  Palmer,  Ichabod  Bowen,  John  Dangerfield,  Miss  Lulu 
Hunt,  accompanist.  Solos  were  sung  by  Everett  R.  Naftzger.  Frequently 
the  Convention  broke  forth  in  spontaneous  song  under  the  leadership  of  some 
delegate  on  the  platform  or  the  floor.  The  religious  feeling  found  ample 
expression  in  these  outbursts  of  fervent  praise. 

374 


SPECIAL  FEATURES. 
CARRYING  THE  CONVENTION  TO  THE  CHURCH. 

THE  spiritual  earnestness  dominant  in  the  Convention  brought  with  it  the  con- 
viction that  the  plans  and  purposes  which  had  so  profoundly  stirred  those 
privileged  to  be  present  ought  to  be  shared  by  the  Church  at  large.  In  order 
that  this  might  be  made  possible,  S.  Earl  Taylor  offered  the  Convention  an 
opportunity  to  contribute  an  amount  of  money  that  would  finance  the  in- 
tensive education  of  the  Church  in  the  New  Financial  Plan*  for  two  years. 
This  plan  includes:  An  adequate  campaign  of  information  and  education, 
including  stewardship;  an  annual  personal  canvass  of  every  member  of  the 
Church  and  congregation;  subscriptions  on  the  weekly  basis  to  missions  and 
benevolences,  and  for  current  expenses;  the  use  of  a  uniform  collecting  device, 
such  as  the  duplex  envelope;  two  distinct  budgets  and  two  treasurers — one  for 
missions  and  benevolences  only;  quarterly  remittance  ok  moneys  collected  for 
benevolences;  the  promotion  of  a  spirit  of  systematic  and  definite  prayer. 
It  was  brought  out  in  the  Sectional  Conferences  that  Churches  which  had 
tried  the  plan  and  worked  it  intelligently  had  increased  both  income  and  the 
spiritual  life  of  those  participating  in  the  canvass.  These  Churches,  however, 
had  guidance  and  training  from  those  fully  acquainted  with  the  entire  plan. 
To  meet  the  demands  for  similar  help  from  District  Superintendents  and  Pastors, 
calls  for  larger  expense  than  any  existing  budget  can  carry.  Fifty  thousand 
dollars  per  year  for  two  years  was  asked  for  to  carry  on  this  educational  cam- 
paign. Thirty-four  thousand  dollars  per  year  for  two  years  was  pledged  in 
the  Convention,  and  the  balance  was  underwritten  by  members  of  the  Execu- 
tive Committee  of  the  Laymen's  Missionary  Movement  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church.  The  appeal  and  the  response  to  the  appeal  were  thor- 
oughly devotional  in  spirit.  Men  gave  themselves  and  their  substance  to  the 
Lord  freely  and  with  gladness. 

SPECIAL  COMMITTEES. 

THE  Committee  on  Policy  consisted  of  the  following  named  persons,  plus  the 
members  of  the  Business  Committee: 

Bishop  Earl  Cranston,  Washington,  J.  W.  McDougall,  Portland,  Ore. 

D.  C.  D.  D.  Forsythe,  Denver,  Colo. 

Bishop    William    Fraser    McDowell,  M.  P.  Burns,  Minneapolis,  Minn. 

Chicago.  U.  G.  Leazenby,  Crawfordsville,  Ind. 

Bishop  William  F.  Anderson,  Cincin-  J.  G.  Cairns,  Kentucky. 

nati.  John  Low  Fort,  Baltson  Spa,  N.  Y. 

Bishop    T.    S.    Henderson,    Chatta-  S.  Earl  Taylor,  New  York  City. 

nooga.  C.  M.  Boswell,  Philadelphia. 

Bishop    F.    J.    McConnell,    Denver,  P.  J.  Maveety,  Cincinnati. 

Colo.  D.  G.  Downey,  New  York  City. 

*  Leaflets  explanatory  of  the  above  may  be  obtained  of  the  Laymen's  Missionary  Move- 
ment, 150  Fifth  Avenue,  New  York  City. 

375 


MILITANT  METHODISM. 


Edgar  Blake,  Chicago. 

C.  T.  Wilson,  Topeka,  Kans. 

W.  S.  Bovard,  New  York  City. 

W.  F.  Sheridan,  Chicago. 

J.  B.  Trimble,  New  York  City. 

F.  B.  Fisher,  New  York  City. 

E.  J.  Lockwood,  Cedar  Rapids,  Iowa. 

E.  S.  Tipple,  Madison,  N.  J. 
O.  F.  Wilke,  Pasadena,  Cal. 
Luther  Freeman,  Columbus,  Ohio. 
Herbert  Welch,  Delaware,  Ohio. 
W.  F.  Conner,  Pittsburgh,  Pa. 

G.  W.  Arnold,  Atlanta,  Ga. 
L.  J.  Birney,  Boston,  Mass. 
G.  W.  Brown,  St.  Louis,  Mo. 
H.  B.  Dickson,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

F.  A.  Home,  New  York  City. 


C.  E.  Foote. 

F.  C.  Evans,  Crawfordsville,  Ind. 

C.  E.  Welch,  West6eld,  N.  Y. 

A.  M.  Smith,  Portland,  Ore. 

T.  S.  Lippy,  Seattle,  Wash. 

Col.  E.  W.  Halford,  New  York  City. 

R.  V.  Watt,  San  Francisco,  Cal. 

W.  E.  Carpenter,  Brazil,  Ind. 

F.  E.  Tasker,  New  York  City. 

J.  T.  Stone,  Baltimore,  Md. 

L.  C.  Fritsche,  Cincinnati. 

E.  E.  Shipley,  Cincinnati. 

J.  R.  Joy,  New  York  City. 

John  Walton,  Philadelphia. 

O.  F.  Hypes,  Springfield,  Ohio. 

O.  F.  Bartholow,  Mt.  Vernon,  N.  Y. 

R.  E.  Jones,  New  Orleans. 


BUSINESS  COMMITTEE. 


Bishop  L.  B.  Wilson,  New  York  City. 
Bishop  C.  W.  Smith,  St.  Louis,  Mo. 
Bishop  E.  H.  Hughes,  San  Francisco, 

Cal. 

Andrew  Gilles,  Minneapolis,  Minn. 
A.  W.  Leonard,  Seattle,  Wash. 
A.  W.  Harris,  Chicago,  111. 
Thos.  Nicholson,  New  York  City. 
J.  W.  Van  Cleve,  Decatur,  111. 


F.  M.  North,  New  York  City. 
J.  E.  Leaycraft,  New  York  City. 
C.  M.  Boswell,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 
A.  J.  Coultas,  Fall  River,  Mass. 
Hanford  Crawford,  St.  Louis,  Mo. 
I.  G.  Penn,  Cincinnati,  Ohio. 
J.  A.  Patten,  Chattanooga,  Tenn. 
Robt.  A.  Booth,  Eugene,  Ore. 
F.  B.  Fisher,  New  York  City. 


The  following  Committee  on  Resolutions  was  appointed: 

Bishop  F.  M.  Bristol,  Omaha.  President  H.  F.  Rail,  Denver,  Colo. 

Dillon  Bronson,  Boston,  Mass.  W.  H.  Brooks,  New  York  City. 

H.  J.  Coker,  Denver,  Colo.  Marvin  Campbell,  South  Bend,  Ind. 

T.  J.  B.  Robinson,  Hampton,  la.  Harry  C.  Sampson,  Pittsburgh,  Pa. 

S.  H.  Thompson,  Athens,  Tenn. 

RESOLUTIONS  AND  INVITATIONS. 
AGAINST  THE  LIQUOR  TRAFFIC. 

WHEREAS,  The  General  Conference  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  at 
its  quadrennial  session  in  1912,  declared  its  attitude  as  follows:  "We  stand 
for  the  speediest  possible  suppression  of  the  liquor  traffic.  Under  that 
divine  law  of  absolute  right,  which  is  the  source  of  all  human  law,  the  only 
proper  attitude  of  civil  government  towards  anything  so  harmful  as  the  liquor 

376 


N 


SPECIAL  FEATURES. 

traffic,  is  that  of  absolute  prohibition;  and  we  recommend  that  our  people  par- 
ticipate in  every  wise  movement  for  local  prohibition  as  a  step  towards  State 
and  National  prohibition,"  and 

WHEREAS,  The  Bishops  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  in  their  last 
semi-annual  meeting  in  St.  Louis,  Missouri,  reaffirmed  this  attitude  by  approv- 
ing the  effort  of  the  Anti-Saloon  League  to  secure  an  amendment  to  the  Con- 
stitution requiring  National  prohibition  of  the  liquor  traffic;  and 

WHEREAS,  The  campaign  for  National  prohibition  is  to  be  launched  at 
the  National  Anti-Saloon  League  Convention,  to  be  held  in  Columbus,  Ohio, 
in  November,  1913;  Therefore,  be  it 

Resolved,  That  this  Convention  of  Methodist  Men,  in  full  harmony  with 
•the  attitude  of  the  General  Conference  and  the  action  since  taken  by  the 
Bishops  of  our  Church,  do  reaffirm  our  allegiance  to  ftts  great  cause,  and  do 
most  heartily  endorse  this  campaign  for  National  prohibition  of  the  manufac- 
ture and  sale  of  beverage  intoxicants,  and  urge  all  Methodists  everywhere  to 
immediate  full  co-operation  in  this  next  and  final  step  in  the  solution  of  the 
liquor  problem. 

BIRTHDAY  GREETINGS  TO  THE  EMPEROR  OF  JAPAN. 

WHEREAS,  The  31st  of  October  is  the  birthday  anniversary  of  His  Majesty, 
the  Emperor  of  Japan; 

Resolved,  That  this  Convention  of  Methodist  Men,  representing  a  Church 
which  has  long  held  sentiments  of  respect  and  admiration  for  the  imperial 
family  and  the  people  of  Japan,  would  express  to  His  Majesty  their  hearty 
felicitations  on  this  auspicious  occasion,  and  very  sincere  wishes  and  prayers 
that  the  blessing  of  the  God  of  all  nations  may  rest  upon  him  in  his  high  and 
noble  responsibilities. 

Resolved,  That  a  copy  of  this  resolution  be  sent  by  the  President  of 
this  Convention  to  His  Excellency  Viscount  Chinda,  who  is  the  Imperial 
Majesty's  Embassador  at  Washington,  and  who  is  a  graduate  of  DePauw 
University,  and  has  many  friends  in  this  Convention,  asking  him  to  convey 
the  same  to  His  Majesty. 

REPORT  OF  THE  COMMITTEE  ON  RESOLUTIONS. 

As  Methodist  Men  in  National  Convention  assembled,  we  would  express 
our  gratitude  to  Almighty  God  for  the  privileges  and  blessings  which  the 
members  of  this  Convention  have  enjoyed. 

We  recognize  the  fact  that  back  of  these  great  meetings  there  have  been 
the  patient  toil  and  gracious  help  of  many  workers  and  friends. 

We  would  express  our  sense  of  deep  indebtedness: 

To  the  Laymen's  Missionary  Movement,  wL.jh  has  brought  together 
this  memorable  gathering. 

377 


MILITANT  METHODISM. 

To  the  General  Committee,  which  has  been  directly  responsible  for  its 
organization,  and  especially  to  Secretary  Fred  B.  Fisher  for  his  patient,  re- 
sourceful, enthusiastic  direction. 

To  the  Local  Committee  for  its  co-operation  in  local  plans. 
To  the  Churches  of  Indianapolis  for  the  use  of  their  houses  of  worship. 
To  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Association  for  its  generous  hospitality 
and  its  active  and  valued  assistance. 

To  the  Knights  of  the  Holy  Grail  and  Boy  Scouts  for  efficient  service. 
To  the  Officials  of  the  City  of  Indianapolis  for  the  use  of  Tomlinson  Hall, 
and  to  the  State  authorities  for  the  use  of  the  Legislative  Chambers. 

To  the  Chamber  of  Commerce  for  effective  aid  in  all  local  matters. 
To  the  press  of  Indianapolis  for  the  accurate,  full,  and  informing  reports 
which  have  especially  marked  their  reporting  of  this  Convention. 

Finally,  we  would  extend  to  our  brother,  the  Honorable  Charles  W.  Fair- 
banks, general  chairman  of  the  local  committees  of  this  Convention,  our  earnest 
sympathy  in  the  bereavement  which  has  befallen  him  in  the  death  of  his  wife, 
praying  that  the  God  of  all  comfort  may  graciously  sustain  him  in  this  hour 
of  affliction.  (Signed)  FRANK  M.  BRISTOL,  Chairman. 

HARRIS  FRANKLIN  HALL,  Secretary. 

HARRY  G.  SAMSON, 

T.  J.  B.  ROBINSON, 

HENRY  J.  COKER. 

DILLON  BRONSON, 

MARVIN  CAMPBELL. 

AN  INVITATION  FOR  1915. 

"The  President  and  Directors  of  the  Panama-Pacific  Universal  Exposi- 
tion, to  be  held  in  San  Francisco  in  1915,  have  the  honor  to  extend  to  the  Na- 
tional Convention  of  Methodist  Men  a  cordial  invitation  to  hold  its  1915 
meeting  in  San  Francisco.  This  city  has  been  selected  by  Congress,  with  the 
approval  of  the  President  of  the  United  States,  as  the  official  site  for  celebrat- 
ing the  uniting  of  the  waters  of  the  Pacific  and  the  Atlantic  through  the  Panama 
Canal,  the  greatest  physical  accomplishment  achieved  by  man.  The  Expo- 
sition will  not  only  attempt  to  show  that  which  is  most  advanced  in  invention, 
most  interesting  in  art,  and  of  greatest  scientific  value,  embracing  all  that  is 
most  important  in  the  material  progress  of  the  world,  but  it  will  be  the  aim  of 
the  directors  to  make  this  rank  in  interest  above  all  previous  expositions;  to 
bring  together  so  much  of  wisdom  and  such  a  broad  grasp  of  the  world's  prob- 
lems, that  the  progress  of  mankind  shall  be  advanced  a  quarter  of  a  century. 
To  assist  in  achieving  this  aim,  we  invite  youi  presence  in  the  city  of  San 
Francisco  in  the  year  1915.  "CHARLES  C.  MOORE,  President, 

"RUDOLPH  J.  TAUSSIQ,  Secretary." 

378 


SPECIAL  FEATURES. 
THE  CHURCH  AND  THE  PRESS. 

THE  publicity  of  the  National  Convention  of  Methodist  Men  was  so  handled 
by  Ralph  Welles  Keeler,  the  chairman  of  the  committee  having  it  in  charge, 
that  the  representatives  of  the  local  newspapers,  the  Associated  Press,  and 
the  Church  editors  received  verbatim  reports  of  the  proceedings  of  each  session 
a  few  minutes  after  adjournment.  Four  expert  shorthand  reporters  were  used, 
(two  of  whom,  A.  H.  Herrick  and  J.  C.  Youker,  have  rendered  similar  service 
at  General  Conferences,)  and  sixteen  typists.  As  a  mark  of  appreciation  of 
thia  unusual  service,  the  newspaper  men,  through  Dr.  E.  Robb  Zaring,  editor 
of  the  Northwestern  Christian  Advocate,  who  acted  as  their  spokesman,  presented 
to  Dr.  Keeler,  at  the  final  session,  a  fine  leather  traveling-bag. 

In  accepting  the  bag,  Dr.  Keeler,  who  is  assistant  editor  of  Sunday  school 
publications  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  said:  "I  have  just  a  word 
of  thanks  to  express  to  these  men.  I  may  say  in  return  that  I  have  learned, 
and  especially  here,  that  the  daily  press  and  the  Church  press  are  ready  to 
spread  the  news  of  the  gospel  of  the  Kingdom  when  those  men  who  represent 
the  gospel  of  the  Kingdom  are  willing  to  bring  it  to  them  in  news  form.  To 
my  mind,  one  of  the  great  failures  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  to  grasp 
opportunity  is  the  neglecting  to  inform  the  world  that  the  Church  is  alive. 
As  a  Church,  we  have  no  place  where  a  press  association  or  a  newspaper  may  get 
adequate  information  of  the  Church  at  large,  and  the  result  is  that  we  have  all 
sorts  of  mix-ups  in  the  daily  press  throughout  the  country — misrepresenta- 
tions for  which  the  press  is  not  responsible.  And  I  believe,  from  the  attitude 
of  these  men  who  have  served  here  from  the  press  of  this  city,  and  the  city 
editors  of  this  city,  that  they  and  all  other  newspaper  men  throughout  the 
country  are  anxious  to  print  the  news  of  which  this  meeting  is  representative. 
And  I  trust  that  among  other  things,  we  may  consider  the  letting  of  the  world 
know  that  we  want  the  world  to  come  to  Christ,  over  the  wire  and  through  the 
pages  of  newspapers  that  are  waiting  for  us  to  say  something  in  an  adequate 
way  and  in  terms  of  every-day  speech.  I  wish  to  thank  these  men,  and  I  ap- 
preciate more  than  words  can  express  the  token  they  have  given  me  now." 

CONCERNING  DELEGATES. 

Mr.  Fisher  announced  that  there  were  twenty-seven  hundred  registered 
delegates,  and  that  more  than  three  thousand  men  had  been  in  actual  at- 
tendance. It  would  be  a  pleasure  to  reproduce  here  the  names  and  addresses 
of  all  the  delegates.  A  little  reflection,  however,  will  show  that  at  least  fifty 
pages  of  valuable  space  would  be  required  for  such  a  list.  It  was  felt  that  the 
messages  of  the  Convention  were  of  such  surpassing  value,  that  the  surrender 
of  so  much  space  would  not  be  warranted.  As  between  messages  and  a  lust  of 
names,  the  editors  decided  for  the  former,  and  it  is  1--  lieved  that  the  delegates 
themselves  will  approve  the  decision. 

379 


^   ,t:v 


t//^' 


- 
4 

/  / 

' 


«4iu^K><N^  '^  ^ 


^      -e. 

v    CO       v/ 


*  •/  /       /  - 
<r»^c£,    e^jU.       t-f^g*/       *f**&f^     Tuu^v- 


c/y-         v^I        Wtu  »u      »  A.  tu» 


j**v  c-^jv.  *•         •-4SV  >L.t?  C  t**^^*          Oi      '(• 

>  y  /  / 


^-V, 


&  ^L  ^     **•> 


C 

* 

/        _/.,       / 

t     ~(~ 


^      «^»   ^< 


* 

- 

t 


v/ 


.  ? 


y+ 


~ 


, 

x 


& 


» 


* 


*     *4j       » 
^  *<  6\jf  * 


r 


,         0 


t 


/  /  • 

cy»  :t  -u^^/ 


v/ 


u  -*      yv&^/  ^~^c  < 
•  -     v 

sL 

^  V    JUUA-  «v^L. 


C        % 

r  o  c.  c*w 


>• 

AA-&S 

#>V*£ 


J  J 


^-P/i  i     *.*  «.    l«  l*i  C^f      u 

*i~&*^n^*e? 


s  N 

/        7  !/ 


.  y  v  .  /?/?         ^ 

£<U4*.7Vx^ 


/  ^    ^  -^ 

flL    •A+-6+A.    A^ 


X.-V 


* 


. 


^ 


4 


>C  \i&^ 


».  "* 


.' 


*     a  .  •««  y 

c'   /      A^"^  f»       /£*-< 


. 


¥ 


o 


\s 

• 

•^  <1  &G> 

f 


-  - 


1.  t*< 

* 


<«*       ^^A 

«r    fv^J^ 

(T 


~f 


t 


(/ 


,1     /<#/ 


THE  IIBRARV 


This  Book  may  be  kept 


FOUP'^TV     -VY 

fine  of       C  '  c  f 


^ 


, 


F   ,     /          .V* 
!_y       /A        * 
A/WvJ#T     «•    OljTH^u. 


on 

1205  00898  6695 


:d^c-e      <K£T- 

/^^^<cA^^£ 


V*-Jfr^*~^£-i 
A** 


/JU**V>~      JU4jCU*r 


G^v»7 


>2*efc 


j^  ^D>  2^   n^- 

C-^ 


^ 


ft    '! 


